elephant grass

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noun

a cattail, Typha elephantina, of southern Asia, used for making rope and baskets.

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Origin of elephant grass

First recorded in 1825–35

Words nearby elephant grass

elephant bird, Elephant Butte, elephant ear, elephant fish, elephant folio, elephant grass, elephant gun, elephantiasis, elephantine, elephant in the room, elephant man's disease

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use elephant grass in a sentence

The London 2012 torch designers explored a green fuel alternative which combined elephant grass and coconut oil, but it was ultimately abandoned for the final torch due to challenges with lighting and extinguishing the flame, Osgerby says.
Inside the surprisingly complex engineering process that creates an Olympic torch|Erin Fennessy|July 23, 2021|Popular-Science
He delights to sit on a telegraph wire or a stem of elephant grass and there make cheerful melody.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar
High elephant grass hid the poor huts even from they who navigate a cautious way along the centre of the narrow stream.
The Keepers of the King's Peace|Edgar Wallace
Beside the river-beds are patches of elephant grass, eight to ten feet high, with feathered plumes six feet higher still.
Life in an Indian Outpost|Gordon Casserly

On the second day we were passing through tall elephant grass with waving plumes that nodded high over our heads.
Life in an Indian Outpost|Gordon Casserly
On either side of it was thick scrub jungle and elephant grass eight feet high.
Life in an Indian Outpost|Gordon Casserly

British Dictionary definitions for elephant grass

elephant grass

noun

any of various stout tropical grasses or grasslike plants, esp Pennisetum purpureum, and Typha elephantina, a type of reed mace

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012