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  • grass
    grass
    noun
    any plant of the family Gramineae, having jointed stems, sheathing leaves, and seedlike grains.
  • Grass
    Grass
    noun
    Günter (Wilhelm) 1927–2015, German novelist, poet, and playwright.
Synonyms

grass

1 American  
[gras, grahs] / græs, grɑs /

noun

grass plural
  1. any plant of the family Gramineae, having jointed stems, sheathing leaves, and seedlike grains.

  2. such plants collectively, as when cultivated in lawns or used as pasture for grazing animals or cut and dried as hay.

  3. the grass-covered ground.

  4. pasture.

    Half the farm is grass.

  5. Slang. marijuana.

  6. grasses, stalks or sprays of grass.

    filled with dried grasses.

  7. the season of the new growth of grass.


verb (used with object)

  1. to cover with grass or turf.

  2. to feed with growing grass; pasture.

  3. to lay (something) on the grass, as for the purpose of bleaching.

verb (used without object)

  1. to feed on growing grass; graze.

  2. to produce grass; become covered with grass.

idioms

  1. go to grass, to retire from one's occupation or profession.

    Many executives lack a sense of purpose after they have gone to grass.

  2. let the grass grow under one's feet, to delay action, progress, etc.; become slack in one's efforts.

Grass 2 American  
[grahs, grahs] / grɑs, grɑs /

noun

  1. Günter (Wilhelm) 1927–2015, German novelist, poet, and playwright.


Grass 1 British  
/ ɡras /

noun

  1. Günter ( Wilhelm ) (ˈɡyntər). born 1927, German novelist, dramatist, and poet. His novels include The Tin Drum (1959), Dog Years (1963), The Rat (1986), Crabwalk (2002), and Peeling the Onion (2007). Nobel prize for literature 1999

"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

grass 2 British  
/ ɡrɑːs /

noun

  1. any monocotyledonous plant of the family Poaceae (formerly Gramineae ), having jointed stems sheathed by long narrow leaves, flowers in spikes, and seedlike fruits. The family includes cereals, bamboo, etc

  2. such plants collectively, in a lawn, meadow, etc

  3. any similar plant, such as knotgrass, deergrass, or scurvy grass

  4. ground on which such plants grow; a lawn, field, etc

  5. ground on which animals are grazed; pasture

  6. a slang word for marijuana

  7. slang a person who informs, esp on criminals

  8. short for sparrowgrass

  9. informal an exclamation of disbelief

  10. to squander time or opportunity

    1. to retire (a racehorse)

    2. informal to retire (a person)

"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

verb

  1. to cover or become covered with grass

  2. to feed or be fed with grass

  3. (tr) to spread (cloth) out on grass for drying or bleaching in the sun

  4. (tr) sport to knock or bring down (an opponent)

  5. (tr) to shoot down (a bird)

  6. (tr) to land (a fish) on a river bank

  7. slang to inform, esp to the police

"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
grass Scientific  
/ grăs /
  1. Any of a large family (Gramineae or Poaceae) of monocotyledonous plants having narrow leaves, hollow stems, and clusters of very small, usually wind-pollinated flowers. Grasses include many varieties of plants grown for food, fodder, and ground cover. Wheat, maize, sugar cane, and bamboo are grasses.

  2. See more at leaf


grass More Idioms  

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of grass

before 900; Middle English gras, Old English græs; cognate with Dutch, German, Old Norse, Gothic gras; akin to grow, green

Explanation

That short green stuff all over the front lawn is grass. What could be better than lying in the grass on a summer afternoon, gazing up at puffy clouds in a blue sky? The word grass goes back to a root that means "green." You're probably familiar with the grass in back yards and city parks. There's also the grass that covers pastures, meant for cows and sheep to graze on, and the grass of grasslands, growing wild on every continent except Antarctica. If you express envy, you may hear the phrase, "The grass is always greener on the other side." In other words, somehow other people's lives always seem better.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing grass

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

She is digitising grass species records collected since 1856 to build a detailed picture of how the land has changed over time.

From BBC Jul. 27, 2026

The government says the soil, which is fenced off and covered in grass, is clean—or at least clean enough.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 25, 2026

He put sheep in his fields when the grass was tall so they would clear away the vegetation, he said.

From Barron's Jul. 25, 2026

“During COVID, I’d spend all day on the grass waving at everybody,” she says with a laugh.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 23, 2026

A run-down shed, a path with broken paving stones, a tiny square of muddy grass, trees along the edge.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Grass is being watered and cut to FIFA-regulation height to ensure that players don't get any surprises when they take to the field in Los Angeles and Seattle, the venues for their group-stage games.

From Barron's May 13, 2026

Further Ado, another favorite, posted the field’s fastest speed in the Blue Grass Stakes on April 4 and will be ridden by John Velazquez.

From The Wall Street Journal May 1, 2026

Brad Cox, who trains three of those horses, including Florida Derby winner Commandment and Blue Grass champion Further Ado, as well as the interesting long shot Fulleffort, termed the field “very competitive.”

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 29, 2026

But Lee Symonds, of the Artificial Grass Company Norfolk and Suffolk, said calls for plastic grass to be banned were somewhat hypocritical.

From BBC Apr. 24, 2026

Grass and weeds were sprouting around the edges, but putting his hand against the crack, he could feel a draft of air rising from below.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

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