crabgrass

crab·grass

noun \ˈkrab-ˌgras\

: a thick type of grass that often grows and spreads quickly in places where it is not wanted

Full Definition of CRABGRASS

:  a grass (especially Digitaria sanguinalis) that has creeping or decumbent stems which root freely at the nodes and that is often a pest in turf or cultivated lands

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First Known Use of CRABGRASS

1743

Rhymes with CRABGRASS

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crabgrass

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis)—Grant Heilman Photography

Any of about 300 species of grasses in the genus Digitaria, especially D. sanguinalis or the slightly shorter D. ischaemum (smooth crabgrass). D. sanguinalis has long hairs covering its leaves and five or six spikelets; D. ischaemum has no hair and only two or three spikelets. Both are natives of Europe that became widely naturalized as weeds in North America. They and a few closely related species are very troublesome in lawns and fields. One species, Arizona cottontop (D. californica), is a useful forage grass in the American Southwest.