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pasture

1 American  
[pas-cher, pahs-] / ˈpæs tʃər, ˈpɑs- /

noun

  1. Also called pastureland.  an area covered with grass or other plants used or suitable for the grazing of livestock; grassland.

  2. a specific area or piece of such ground.

  3. grass or other plants for feeding livestock.


verb (used with object)

pastures, present (3rd person singular) pastured, past participle, past pasturing present participle
  1. to feed (livestock) by putting them out to graze on pasture.

  2. (of land) to furnish with pasture.

  3. (of livestock) to graze upon.

verb (used without object)

pastures, present (3rd person singular) pastured, past participle, past pasturing present participle
  1. (of livestock) to graze in a pasture.

idioms

  1. put out to pasture,

    1. to put in a pasture to graze.

    2. to dismiss, retire, or use sparingly as being past one's or its prime.

      Most of our older employees don't want to be put out to pasture.

Pasture 2 American  
[pah-tyr] / pɑˈtür /

noun

  1. Rogier or Roger de la Weyden, Rogier van der.


pasture British  
/ ˈpɑːstʃə /

noun

  1. land covered with grass or herbage and grazed by or suitable for grazing by livestock

  2. a specific tract of such land

  3. the grass or herbage growing on it

"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. (tr) to cause (livestock) to graze or (of livestock) to graze (a pasture)

"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
pasture More Idioms  
  1. see put out to grass (pasture).


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of pasture

1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French < Late Latin pāstūra, equivalent to Latin pāst ( us ), past participle of pāscere to feed, pasture ( cf. pastor) + -ūra -ure

Explanation

If your cattle are feeling hungry, you should let them pasture, or graze, in a grassy field known as a pasture. Pasture is both a noun and a verb associated with grazing animals. As a noun, a pasture is a field where animals such as horses and cattle can graze, or feed. Pasture can also refer to the grasses or other plants that grow in a pasture. As a verb, pasture means "to graze" or "to release animals into a pasture for grazing." You also might hear this word used in the idiom "Put out to pasture," which means "to retire someone," usually because of old age.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing pasture

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.

In late February, stores nationwide began removing signs and artwork that feature phrases like “No Antibiotics Ever,” “Vegetarian Fed,” “Grass Fed Pasture Raised,” “Animal Welfare,” or any mention of “Hormones,” according to the documents.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2024

Amber Deakin was a passenger in a silver Vauxhall Vectra when it crashed on Baildon Road, near Pasture Road, in Bradford at about 23:45 GMT on Tuesday.

From BBC • Jan. 6, 2023

Peaceful and quiet are a pair of words that appear like incantations in the passages of Winter Pasture devoted to her deepest feelings.

From Slate • Feb. 24, 2021

At the small pebble beach near a park called Blackies Pasture, a surgical mask is tangled in the marsh at the edge of the Bay.

From Washington Post • Dec. 10, 2020

A hasty supper had been dispatched soon after, and then the Boy Scouts, Mr. Harkness and the cow-punchers had set out for the Far Pasture.

From The Boy Scouts On The Range by Payson, Lieut. Howard

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