ground cover

noun

1
: the small plants on a forest floor except young trees
2
a
: a planting of low plants (such as ivy) that covers the ground in place of turf
b
: a plant adapted for use as ground cover

Examples of ground cover in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Others creep by underground rhizomes and can form a dense ground cover. Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 16 Dec. 2025 Every year, Dottie, who belonged to the Newport Garden Club, gave Dodie ginger plants from her garden, to be used as a ground cover. Calvin Tomkins, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025 This is an herb that grows rapidly and can serve as a carefree ground cover. Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025 In her 2013 book Braiding Sweetgrass, Potawatomi botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer explained that these crops thrive together because maize provides a trellis-like framework for nitrogen-fixing beans to grow on while the low-lying squash provides a productive ground cover crop. JSTOR Daily, 14 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ground cover

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ground cover was in 1900

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ground cover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ground%20cover. Accessed 24 Dec. 2025.

Kids Definition

ground cover

noun
: low-growing plants that cover the ground (as in a forest or in place of grass or a lawn)
also : a plant used as ground cover

More from Merriam-Webster on ground cover

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