grass

1 of 2

noun

ˈgras 

often attributive

1

: herbage suitable or used for grazing animals

2

: any of a large family (Gramineae synonym Poaceae) of monocotyledonous mostly herbaceous plants with jointed stems, slender sheathing leaves, and flowers borne in spikelets of bracts

3

: land (such as a lawn or a turf racetrack) covered with growing grass

keep off the grass

the horse had never won on grass

4

grasses plural : leaves or plants of grass

5

: a state or place of retirement

put out to grass

6

[short for grasshopper, rhyming slang for copper] British slang : a police informer

7

: electronic noise on a radarscope that takes the form of vertical lines resembling lawn grass

8

: marijuana

grassless

ˈgras-ləs 

adjective

grasslike

ˈgras-ˌlīk 

adjective

grass

2 of 2

verb

grassed; grassing; grasses

transitive verb

1

: to feed (livestock) on grass sometimes without grain or other concentrates

2

: to cover with grass

especially : to seed to grass

intransitive verb

1

: to produce grass

2

British slang : inform sense 1

—often used with on

Synonyms

Verb

• fink
• inform
• rat (on)
• sing
• snitch
• split (on) [British]
• squeak
• squeal
• talk
• tell (on)

Examples of grass in a Sentence

Noun

They were smoking some grass.

Verb

that bloke would grass on his own mater to save himself

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The nonprofit hopes the new trees can rejuvenate the struggling population of existing oaks and slow fires by creating a natural buffer and fending off the invasive grasses that have replaced the native chaparral ecosystem. —Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2024

Residents are also urged to avoid tossing cigarettes or matches onto dry grass, as this could ignite a wildfire. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024

Verb

Zink takes the time to camouflage, paying attention to every detail, grassing the chicken-wire frame of his boat blind with natural vegetation. —Joe Arterburn, Outdoor Life, 14 Nov. 2024

During the Clearances, thousands of peasant farmers were evicted to make way for industrial-scale sheep farming, their fields grassed, and woods razed for pasture. —Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English gras, from Old English græs; akin to Old High German gras grass, Old English grōwan to grow

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1500, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing grass

• Bahia grass
• barnyard grass
• beach grass
• bear grass
• bent grass
• Bermuda grass
• blue-eyed grass
• buffalo grass
• cotton grass
• couch grass
• cut-grass
• Dallis grass
• elephant grass
• fountain grass
• gama grass
• grass carp
• grass cloth
• grass court
• grass on/up
• grass roots
• grass tree
• grass widow
• grass widower
• harding grass
• Indian grass
• let the grass grow under one's feet
• love grass
• manna grass
• marram grass
• meadow grass
• napier grass
• nut grass
• oat grass
• orchard grass
• pampas grass
• pangola grass
• panic grass
• put (someone) out to grass
• quack grass
• Rhodes grass
• Saint Augustine grass
• salt grass
• saw grass
• scurvy grass
• short-grass prairie
• snake in the grass
• sour grass
• star grass
• St. Augustine grass
• Sudan grass
• sword grass
• tape grass
• the grass is always greener on the other side (of the fence)
• touch grass
• turtle grass
• tussock grass
• wire grass
• yard grass

Kids Definition

grass

1 of 2 noun

ˈgras 

1

: herbs suitable for or eaten by grazing animals

2

: any of a large family of green plants (as wheat, corn, bamboo, or sugarcane) with jointed usually hollow stems, long slender leaves, and small dry one-seeded fruits often in groups

3

: grass-covered land

especially : lawn entry 2

4

: marijuana

grasslike

-ˌlīk 

adjective

grassy

ˈgras-ē

adjective

grass

2 of 2 verb

1

: to seed with grass

2

: to provide (as cattle) with grass for food

Medical Definition

grass

noun

ˈgras 

: marijuana

Biographical Definition

Grass

biographical name

ˈgräs 

Günter Wilhelm 1927–2015 German writer