cordgrass
noun
cord·grass
ˈkȯrd-ˌgras 
: any of a genus (Spartina) of chiefly salt-marsh grasses of coastal regions of Europe, northern Africa, and the New World that have stiff culms and panicled spikelets
Examples of cordgrass in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sitting on a boat, the results can seem empty and monotonous—nothing but cordgrass as far as the horizon.
—
Boyce Upholt, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2025
California has spent millions eradicating invasive species like nutria, Atlantic cordgrass and the European green crab.
—Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Nov. 2024
The consequences are clearer in the case of Spartina species, known as cordgrasses—though in this case, the species benefits but the environment itself suffers.
—Richard Pallardy, Ars Technica, 30 July 2024
In the distance, the scraggly skeletons of tall, once-majestic trees reach up out of the cordgrass, a reminder that not long ago this wasn’t marshland at all.
—Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 11 Apr. 2024
Spartina, a perennial cordgrass grown in salt marshes, provides habitat for wildlife.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 31 July 2023
With an oyster trail flag attached to the boat snapping in the breeze, the Faisons steer their pontoon through a maze of traffic and into the network of channels off the waterway, through cordgrass where the occasional alligator lurks in the summer months.
—Emily Cataneo, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Aug. 2022
More than half of the main island is salt marsh, and the knee-high cordgrass and black needlerush seemingly stretched to the Earth’s curve.
—Andrea Sachs, Washington Post, 1 July 2022
Native plants like the Pacific cordgrass and pickleweed provide the muscle for sea level rise adaptation, said John Callaway, a wetlands restoration ecologist at the University of San Francisco.
—Julie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Oct. 2021
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Boyce Upholt, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2025
California has spent millions eradicating invasive species like nutria, Atlantic cordgrass and the European green crab.
—Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Nov. 2024
The consequences are clearer in the case of Spartina species, known as cordgrasses—though in this case, the species benefits but the environment itself suffers.
—Richard Pallardy, Ars Technica, 30 July 2024
In the distance, the scraggly skeletons of tall, once-majestic trees reach up out of the cordgrass, a reminder that not long ago this wasn’t marshland at all.
—Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 11 Apr. 2024
Spartina, a perennial cordgrass grown in salt marshes, provides habitat for wildlife.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 31 July 2023
With an oyster trail flag attached to the boat snapping in the breeze, the Faisons steer their pontoon through a maze of traffic and into the network of channels off the waterway, through cordgrass where the occasional alligator lurks in the summer months.
—Emily Cataneo, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Aug. 2022
More than half of the main island is salt marsh, and the knee-high cordgrass and black needlerush seemingly stretched to the Earth’s curve.
—Andrea Sachs, Washington Post, 1 July 2022
Native plants like the Pacific cordgrass and pickleweed provide the muscle for sea level rise adaptation, said John Callaway, a wetlands restoration ecologist at the University of San Francisco.
—Julie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Oct. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Cordgrass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cordgrass. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share