grass carp

noun

plural grass carp also grass carps

: a freshwater cyprinid fish (Ctenopharyngodon idella) of eastern Asia that is olive-brown with a silvery-white belly and that has been introduced into non-native waters where it is often considered an invasive (see invasive entry 1 sense 1a) species

Native to Asia, grass carp were first imported here in 1963 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to evaluate as an alternative to herbicides and mechanical weed control.

—Carolyn Shea

Note: Grass carp, along with the related bighead carp, black carp, and silver carp, are often called Asian carp in the U.S.

called also white amur

Examples of grass carp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Non-native species like grass carp and common carp, and native blue sucker, bigmouth buffalo, black buffalo, and smallmouth buffalo, have occasionally been mistaken for black carp. —Cheyenne Derksen, Oklahoman, 18 Mar. 2026

Cash in on carp An effort to reduce the number of grass carp in Bella Vista lakes comes with a chance to win a monthly $100 prize. —Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2025

As an alternative to using herbicides, the Candlewood Lake Authority began introducing sterile grass carp to feed on watermilfoil and other weeds. —John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for grass carp

• endocarp
• pericarp
• harp
• scarp
• tarp