touch grass

American  

[tuhch gras] / ˈtʌtʃ ˈgræs /

touch some grass

idiom

1. to go outside; enjoy nature (used especially as an exhortation to spend less time on electronic devices).

   More people need to go touch grass and get off their devices for a while.

   Enough doomscrolling already—touch grass!

   So which generation in the group went out to touch grass, and which one is staying tied to the screens?

2. to engage with reality or real life.

   Like many academics who fail to touch grass or experience non-collegiate humans on a daily basis, he refers to “common experience” but has no idea what it is.

   Go touch grass and get a credible education that will actually help you in life!

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Etymology

Origin of touch grass

First recorded in 2015–20

Example Sentences

Like many who would follow him into online obsession, Conor really needs to log off and touch grass.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

After Charlie Kirk was killed, he urged Americans to "log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a family member, go out and do good in the community".

From BBC • Sep. 18, 2025

I love New York with all my heart, but it’s not until you go out and touch grass somewhere that you realize just how noisy and crowded and busy it is there.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 4, 2025

Online, touch grass is an oft-repeated quasi insult, a way to tell your opponent they’ve spent too much time scrolling and need to reestablish a relationship with the sublunary.

From Slate • Jun. 20, 2025

During his crossing of the Nan Shan, Sir Aurel Stein had the same experience, five of his ponies being "benumbed and refusing to touch grass or fodder."

From The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 2 by Yule, Henry