Grass

Pronunciation

• RP enPR: gräs, IPA: /ɡɹɑːs/
• Rhymes: -ɑːs
• northern England enPR: grăs, IPA: /ɡɹæs/
• Rhymes: -æs

Origin

From Middle English gras, gres, gers, from Old English græs, gærs ("grass, blade of grass, herb, young corn, hay, plant; pasture"), from Proto-Germanic *grasą ("grass"), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreH₁-, *ǵʰreh₁- ("to grow").

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Any plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by leaves that arise from nodes in the stem and leaf bases that wrap around the stem, especially those grown as ground cover rather than for grain.
• 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 1, 'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.
2. (countable) Various plants not in family Poaceae that resemble grasses.
3. (uncountable) A lawn.
4. (uncountable, slang) Marijuana.
5. (countable, slang) An informer, police informer; one who betrays a group (of criminals, etc) to the authorities.
6. (uncountable, physics) Sharp, closely spaced discontinuities in the trace of a cathode-ray tube, produced by random interference.
7. (uncountable, slang) Noise on an A-scope or similar type of radar display.
8. The season of fresh grass; spring.
• Lathamtwo years old next grass
9. (obsolete, figurative) That which is transitory.
• Bible Is. xl. 7Surely the people is grass.

Synonyms

• (Poaceae) Gramineae alternative name

Derived terms

Full definition of grass

Verb

1. (transitive) To lay out on the grass; to knock down (an opponent etc.).
• 1893, Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘The Naval Treaty’, Norton 2005, p.709:He flew at me with his knife, and I had to grass him twice, and got a cut over the knuckles, before I had the upper hand of him.
2. (transitive or intransitive, slang) To act as a grass or informer, to betray; to report on (criminals etc) to the authorities.
3. (transitive) To cover with grass or with turf.
4. (transitive) To expose, as flax, on the grass for bleaching, etc.
5. (transitive) To bring to the grass or ground; to land.to grass a fish