\ ˈtərf 
\
\ plural turfs\ ˈtərfs \ also turves\ ˈtərvz \
\ also turves\ ˈtərvz \Definition of turf
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a : the upper stratum of soil bound by grass and plant roots into a thick mat also : a piece of this
b : an artificial substitute for this (as on a playing field)
c : grass sense 3
2a : territory considered by a gang to be under its control
b : territory sense 2 have to play two of the last three games on hostile turf— Joe Klein in chapter two, the author is on unfamiliar turf also : a sphere of activity or influence people who could hurt him on his own foreign-policy turf — Wall Street Jour.
3a : a track or course for horse racing
b : the sport or business of horse racing
4a : peat sense 2
b : a piece of peat dried for fuel
turf
verbturfed; turfing; turfs
Definition of turf (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to cover with turf
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Other Words from turf
Noun
turfy \ ˈtər-fē \ adjective
\ adjectiveExamples of turf in a Sentence
Noun
a lawn made by laying turfs
Synthetic turf was installed in the playing field instead of grass.
playing fields with artificial turfs
The team played on home turf.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Adams was seen throwing his helmet to the turf during the game against the 49ers, likely a reaction to his latest injury.
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oregonlive, "Seattle Seahawks unsure of Jamal Adams’ availability for Wild Card playoff game," 5 Jan. 2021 When the play ended, Samuel was slow to get back on his feet after a defender knocked him to the turf.
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Chris Dabe, NOLA.com, "Edna Karr loses Class 4A final against Carencro; streak stops at 4 consecutive titles," 29 Dec. 2020 On the first play from scrimmage, Gunnell got driven to the turf by unblocked blitzing linebacker Bo Calvert.
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Bruce Pascoe, The Arizona Republic, "Arizona Wildcats football loses quarterback Grant Gunnell early in Pac-12 game vs. UCLA," 28 Nov. 2020 The enduring image of Sunday’s game between the Browns and Jaguars will be Joe Schobert falling to the turf as Nick Chubb raced to the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown run.
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Scott Patsko, cleveland, "What happened between the Browns and Jaguars in Week 12: Spoiler Alert," 28 Nov. 2020 Now instead of throwing rowdy patrons out of bars, Johnson is tossing opposing players to the turf for a UCLA defense trying to turn a corner in the third year under Chip Kelly.
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Los Angeles Times, "Caleb Johnson goes from bouncer to bouncing opponents for UCLA," 26 Nov. 2020 The play happened when Giants safety Jabrill Peppers brought down the 24-year-old, second-year passer with a leg whip that pinned Allen's ankle to the turf.
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Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, "Washington Football Team QB Kyle Allen thanks fans for support after dislocating ankle vs. Giants," 9 Nov. 2020 The next challenger received a stiff-arm to the helmet and a shove to the turf.
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Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, "Could Bijan Robinson be Texas’ next Ricky Williams?," 9 Nov. 2020 Cowan has been his best since switching to turf in September and had a bullet workout at Keeneland in preparation for this.
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Jason Frakes, The Courier-Journal, "Picks to win, horses to avoid while wagering on Friday's Breeders' Cup races at Keeneland," 5 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Our Best Bet today will be in Race 9 — #8 Copa: hoping this one will take to turf and kick on in the stretch moving back to a sprint at a big price.
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NOLA.com, "Check out Chok's Choices for Wednesday's Fair Grounds races," 13 Jan. 2021 This party is in the first stages of picking its nominee, who will contest the only method still remaining for turfing Trump out of office — namely, the election this November.
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Ryan Cooper, TheWeek, "American democracy is dying," 7 Feb. 2020 The Sharks turfed Peter DeBoer this past Wednesday simply because of lackluster results: five losses in a row, and a 15-16-2 record with a roster ostensibly loaded to contend, as has become the standard in Silicon Valley.
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BostonGlobe.com, "“Everything went to lighter material, lighter material, lighter material,” he said. “The sticks are [expletive], in my opinion. They break all the time.” He would find a sympathetic ear in Ottawa, where this past week young," 15 Dec. 2019 Seven coaches have been turfed this season, five for performance reasons.
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Matt Porter, BostonGlobe.com, "Hockey is an honest game, or is it?," 18 Jan. 2020 Less than 20% of the party's candidates were victorious — 21 out of 181 -- and many leading figures, including vice-chairman Holden Chow, were turfed out of their seats.
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James Griffiths, CNN, "Hong Kongers show not only the depths of their discontent, but also their power," 25 Nov. 2019 The first coaching change of the season was Monday when Washington turfed Jay Gruden and promoted offensive line coach Bill Callahan.
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Ryan O’halloran, The Denver Post, "Week 6 NFL Picks: Time for Dolphins to get first victory," 12 Oct. 2019 From the heart of the city's financial district, to outlying islands and working-class estates in Kowloon, pro-democracy and anti-government candidates turfed out established pro-Beijing councilors.
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James Griffiths, CNN, "Hong Kongers show not only the depths of their discontent, but also their power," 25 Nov. 2019 In a span of 40 years now, the Leafs have turfed their coach eight times with the season in progress.
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BostonGlobe.com, "You're using a browser set to private or incognito mode.," 23 Nov. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'turf.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for turf
turf
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of turf
: the upper layer of ground that is made up of grass and plant roots
British : a square piece of turf cut out of the ground that is used for making lawns
: a material that looks like grass and that is used especially to cover athletic fields
See the full definition for turf in the English Language Learners Dictionary
turf
noun\ ˈtərf \
\Kids Definition of turf
1 : the upper layer of soil bound into a thick mat by roots of grass and other plants
2 : land covered with grass
3 : an area that is or is felt to be under an individual's control
Fluffy won't allow any other dogs on his turf.
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Comments on turf
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Time Traveler for turf
The first known use of turf was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century