tussock

American  

[tuhs-uhk] / ˈtʌs ək /

noun

1. a tuft or clump of growing grass or the like.

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tussock British  

/ ˈtʌsək /

noun

1. a dense tuft of vegetation, esp of grass

2. 1. short for tussock grass

   2. country where tussock grass grows

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Other Word Forms

• tussocked
  adjective
• tussocky
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of tussock

1540–50; apparently akin to Middle High German zūsach thicket, derivative of zūse lock (of hair), brushwood. See -ock

Explanation

A tussock is a clump or tuft of something, like the tussock of grass at the top of a hill. Your grandpa might have an entirely bald head except for the tussock of gray on top of it, and your yard might consist of dandelions and one tussock of tall grass. It's most common to use this noun, in fact, for grass that sprouts taller than the surrounding growth. When tussock was originally used, in the 1540s, it meant "a tuft of hair." Its origin is uncertain.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tussock

It revealed that prime night parrot habitat in Queensland consisted of areas of tussock grass called triodia that had been long untouched by fire, and close to water sources and seed-rich floodplains.

From New York Times ● Jan. 4, 2022

Head west across the mudflats at the outflow of Loch Tarbert, and negotiate a patchwork of peat bog and tussock grass down to the coast, using intermittent deer tracks.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 29, 2020

The white hickory tussock moth caterpillar has been spotted in the central part of the state, according to KDKA.

From Fox News ● Nov. 1, 2018

The endemic Cobb’s wren hides in the towering tussock grass.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2016

Everything else—the gateleg table they’d painted blue, the mismatched chairs, Pearl’s bed and Mia’s mattress and the tussock of pillows they’d called a couch—would be left behind.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng