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• moss
  moss

  noun

  any tiny, leafy-stemmed, flowerless plant of the class Musci, reproducing by spores and growing in tufts, sods, or mats on moist ground, tree trunks, rocks, etc.
• Moss
  Moss

  noun

  Howard, 1922–1987, U.S. poet, editor, and playwright.

moss

¹ American  

[maws, mos] / mɔs, mɒs /

noun

• mosses
  plural

1. any tiny, leafy-stemmed, flowerless plant of the class Musci, reproducing by spores and growing in tufts, sods, or mats on moist ground, tree trunks, rocks, etc.

2. a growth of such plants.

3. any of various similar plants, as Iceland moss or club moss.

4. Chiefly Scot. and North England. a swamp or bog.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cover with a growth of moss.

   to moss a crumbling wall.

Moss ² American  

[maws, mos] / mɔs, mɒs /

noun

1. Howard, 1922–1987, U.S. poet, editor, and playwright.

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moss ¹ British  

/ mɒs /

noun

1. any bryophyte of the phylum Bryophyta , typically growing in dense mats on trees, rocks, moist ground, etc See also peat moss

2. a clump or growth of any of these plants

3. any of various similar but unrelated plants, such as club moss, Spanish moss, Ceylon moss, rose moss, and reindeer moss

4. a peat bog or marsh

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Moss ² British  

/ mɒs /

noun

1. Kate . born 1974, British supermodel.

2. Sir Stirling. born 1929, English racing driver

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moss Scientific  

/ môs /

1. Any of various green, usually small nonvascular plants of the division Bryophyta. Mosses, unlike liverworts, have some tissues specialized for conducting water and nutrients. As in the other bryophytes, the diploid sporophyte grows on the haploid gametophyte generation, which supplies it with nutrients. Mosses often live in moist, shady areas and grow in clusters or mats. Sphagnum mosses play a crucial role in the ecology of peat bogs.

2. See more at bryophyte

3. Any of a number of plants that look like mosses but are not related to them. For instance, reindeer moss is a lichen, Irish moss is an alga, and Spanish moss is a bromeliad, a flowering plant.

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moss Idioms  

1. see rolling stone gathers no moss.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mossiness
  noun
• mosslike
  adjective
• mossy
  adjective
• unmossed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mosses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of moss

before 1000; Middle English mos ( se ), Old English mos moss, bog; akin to German Moos, Old Norse mȳrr mire

Explanation

Moss is a small green plant that grows, carpet-like, across moist, shady areas. If you see a green furry rock as you hike in a forest, chances are that's moss. Moss forms mats and clumps in wooded spots, and it's unusual in the plant world for several reasons, including the fact that it has no seeds and no real roots. It reproduces through spores and absorbs water through its tiny leaves. Long ago, people used moss to insulate dwellings, but today it's primarily used in gardens. The Old English root is meos, closely related to mos, "bog," which is a damp area where moss might grow.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

moss Moss mosses

Other species have long legs and live among moss, while some are sturdier frogs adapted to life on the ground.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

With dated production and too many songs that make a good first impression but fail to stick, “Steel Wheels” has gathered moss over the years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Carlini demonstrated how powerful Mythos can be one afternoon recently at Anthropic’s 10-story San Francisco headquarters, where moss walls, plants and artwork are designed to evoke the Pacific Coast Trail.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

There are more than 1,000 types of moss in the UK.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

He remembered trying to find the moss, trying to count his footsteps, but he’d kept losing track of his numbers in his head.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

However, Moss tells Slate, he is not yet ready to back El-Sayed himself in the U.S.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Jeremy Moss and Abdul El-Sayed are young, diverse progressive millennials in Michigan who are on the ballot for federal office in November.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Since then, the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Princess Diana, Kate Moss and Alexa Chung have helped further the style’s popularity, according to a summary on fashion publication the Zoe Report.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Publicist Josh Moss tells BBC Newsbeat that at the early stages of a campaign, artists won't be giving much away.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Yet Moss saw the excitement on his friends’ faces, saw Shamika point at him and smile, felt his mother embrace him in a hug.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

"This moss has just exploded. In the 1930s, native mosses would have been growing here instead," Greiff explains.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

Early signs such as mosses, lichens and ferns growing on existing trees was a "really good indicator" of suitability, he added.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

Their rich, sheltered microclimates are home to mosses, lichens, fungi and ferns, with some species rarely found outside the remaining fragments of Cumbrian woodland.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

In 2025, he and several co-authors published another study examining the use of mosses and other bryophytes as evidence in criminal investigations.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2026

I tried some of the mosses that they liked, but decided moss was for the deer.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George