cordgrass

noun cord·grass \ ˈkȯrd-ˌgras \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Definition of cordgrass

: 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

Recent Examples of cordgrass from the Web

The terraces, created by dredging material from the bay bottom, would be planted with hardy vegetation — smooth cordgrass, often called oystergrass — that would hold together the terraces’ soil.

— shannon tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "Cow Trap Lake Project a success on multiple levels," 10 May 2018
Calls and murmurs of birds fill the air scented with native cordgrass, marsh gumplant, and alkali heath, all planted and naturalized in the 10 years since these salt ponds were opened to the bay.

— National Geographic, "How the Bay Area Is Restoring Nature's Delicate Balance," 13 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cordgrass.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.