grass

noun, often attributive \ ˈgras \

Updated on: 21 Apr 2018

Definition of grass

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

[short for grasshopper, rhyming slang for copper]

slang, British : a police informer

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

8 : marijuana

—

grassless

play \ˈgras-ləs\ adjective

—

grasslike

play \ˈgras-ˌlīk\ adjective

See grass defined for English-language learners

See grass defined for kids

Examples of grass in a Sentence

They were smoking some grass.

Recent Examples of grass from the Web

Billowing smoke that could be seen for miles Tuesday afternoon was caused by a grass fire that prompted a nearby hotel to evacuate, Orange County Fire Rescue crews said.

— krista torralva, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Grass fire near airport prompts hotel evacuation," 17 Apr. 2018
Buckel's body was found early Saturday in Brooklyn's Prospect Park after a jogger flagged down officers and alerted them to a grass fire.

— NBC News, "Prominent gay rights lawyer self-immolates in environmental protest," 16 Apr. 2018
Jordan is an immensely popular figure in conservative grass-roots circles but a divisive figure outside of them, making his ascension to the speakership a long shot.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Rep. Jim Jordan, Freedom Caucus co-founder, is exploring run for House speaker," 13 Apr. 2018
But Dawn Penich-Thacker, a spokeswoman for Save our Schools Arizona, a grass-roots group pressing for more education funding, said the governor could have better used the nearly $29 million on public education.

— craig harris, azcentral, "Gov. Doug Ducey has spent $29M to make state government more efficient. Is it working?," 12 Apr. 2018
The appeals have become a surefire way for candidates to raise small contributions from grass-roots conservatives who are devoted to Mr. Trump, veteran Republican fund-raisers say.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Republicans Are Trying to Use Impeachment to Scare Their Base to the Polls," 12 Apr. 2018
And a firefighter in Ellinger, Texas, died Friday of injuries sustained while battling a large grass fire earlier this month.

— CBS News, "2 West Virginia firefighters among victims in deadly crashes," 25 Mar. 2018
Here's what firefighters, motorists and neighbors saw during the Parker County grass fire on Monday.

— stephen english, star-telegram, "Here's why there's a 'near-critical threat' for grass fires around Fort Worth | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 15 Mar. 2018
The Fort Osage National Historic Landmark in Sibley will be closed indefinitely after sustaining damage from a grass fire on Sunday afternoon.

— mike hendricks, kansascity, "Fire damages Fort Osage historic site | The Kansas City Star," 19 Feb. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of grass

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

grass

verb

Definition of grass

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 slang, British : inform 2 —often used with on

See grass defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of grass from the Web

Related stories from Star-Telegram Hamels delivers gem as Rangers sweep Mariners Beyond a wild-card race, Rangers from Venezuela in dire fight for family and country Rangers’ new ballpark won’t look like Minute Maid Park, but will grass grow?

— jeff wilson, star-telegram, "Has DeShields raced his way into Rangers’ 2018 lineup?," 21 Sep. 2017
How long should grass get before your town issues a warning or even a fine?

— linda kinsey, cleveland.com, "How should your community handle homeowners whose lawns are overgrown? Share your comments," 21 June 2017
Robotic lawn mowers like the Honda Miimo ($2,499); Robomow ($1,299); and Worx Landroid ($999) are to grass what the Roomba and its ilk are to carpet.

— maria carter, Country Living, "The Roomba for Lawns Is a Yard Work Game-Changer," 19 Apr. 2017

First Known Use of grass

circa 1500

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Grass

biographical name \ ˈgräs \

Definition of Grass

Günter Wilhelm 1927–2015 German writer

GRASS Defined for English Language Learners

grass

noun

Definition of grass for English Language Learners

: plants that have narrow green leaves, that are eaten by cows, sheep, horses, etc., and that are commonly grown on lawns and in gardens
: a particular type of grass
: a person who gives information to the police about the criminal activity of other people : a police informer