spear grass

noun

any of various grasses, as a meadow grass or a bent grass, having lance-shaped leaves or floral spikes.

Nearby words

speaking tube, speaking type, spean, spear, spear carrier, spear grass, spear gun, spear phish, spear side, spear-head spoon, spear-phishing

Origin of spear grass

First recorded in 1540–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spear grass

It was the stalks, above the upper joint, of spear-grass and redtop grass growing so profusely in Weathersfield.
Home Life in Colonial Days|Alice Morse Earle
The larva feeds on the spear-grass (Aciphylla squarrosa), an abundant plant on the coast hills near Wellington.
An Elementary Manual of New Zealand Entomology|G. V. Hudson
The pupa state is spent, in an earthen chamber, amongst the roots of the spear-grass, and the moth emerges during the summer.
An Elementary Manual of New Zealand Entomology|G. V. Hudson
If you get scratched up by spear-grass and thorns and then step into some swamp-pool it's all off.
The Blind Lion of the Congo|Elliott Whitney

During our stay the island was fired, in order to remove the "spear-grass," which is so destructive to cattle.
Cruise of the 'Alert'|R. W. Coppinger

British Dictionary definitions for spear grass

spear grass

noun NZ

another name for wild Spaniard

any of various native Australian grasses, esp of the genera Stipa or Heteropogon, with sharp-pointed seeds

any of various grasses with sharp stiff blades or seeds

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

spear grass

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of spear grass

Examples from the Web for spear grass

British Dictionary definitions for spear grass

spear grass

noun NZ