Adjacent Words

Grass definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GR`ASS, n.
1. In common usage, herbage; the plants which constitute the food of cattle and other beasts.
2. In botany, a plant having simple leaves, a stem generally jointed and tubular, a husky calyx, called glume, and the seed single. This definition includes wheat, rye, oats, barley, etc., and excludes clover and some other plants which are commonly called by the name of grass. The grasses form a numerous family of plants.
Grass of Parnassus, a plant, the Parnassia.
GR`ASS, v.t. To cover with grass or with turf.
GR`ASS, v.i. To breed grass; to be covered with grass.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: narrow-leaved green herbage: grown as lawns; used as pasture for grazing animals; cut and dried as hay
2: German writer of novels and poetry and plays (born 1927) [syn: Grass, Gunter Grass, Gunter Wilhelm Grass]
3: a police informer who implicates many people [syn: supergrass, grass]
4: bulky food like grass or hay for browsing or grazing horses or cattle [syn: eatage, forage, pasture, pasturage, grass]
5: street names for marijuana [syn: pot, grass, green goddess, dope, weed, gage, sess, sens, smoke, skunk, locoweed, Mary Jane] v
1: shoot down, of birds
2: cover with grass; "The owners decided to grass their property"
3: spread out clothes on the grass to let it dry and bleach
4: cover with grass [syn: grass, grass over]
5: feed with grass
6: give away information about somebody; "He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam" [syn: denounce, tell on, betray, give away, rat, grass, shit, shop, snitch, stag]

Merriam Webster's

biographical name Günter Wilhelm 1927- German writer

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English gras, from Old English græs; akin to Old High German gras grass, Old English gr?wan to grow Date: before 12th century 1. herbage suitable or used for grazing animals 2. any of a large family (Gramineae syn. Poaceae) of monocotyledonous mostly herbaceous plants with jointed stems, slender sheathing leaves, and flowers borne in spikelets of bracts 3. land (as a lawn or a turf racetrack) covered with growing grass <keep off the grass> <the horse had never won on grass> 4. plural leaves or plants of grass 5. a state or place of retirement <put out to grass> 6. [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 adjective • grasslike adjective II. verb Date: circa 1500 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

Britannica Concise

German novelist, poet, and playwright. Born in Danzig (now Gdá nsk, Poland), Grass passed through the Hitler Youth movement, was drafted at 16 and wounded in battle, and became a prisoner of war. His extraordinary first novel, The Tin Drum (1959), brought him worldwide fame, and he became the literary spokesman for the German generation that grew up in the Nazi era. It was followed by Cat and Mouse (1961) and Dog Years (1963); the three novels form a trilogy set in Danzig. His other works, all politically topical, include The Flounder (1977); Meeting at Telgte (1979), Headbirths (1980); The Call of the Toad (1992), about the uneasy relationship between Poland and reunified Germany; A Broad Field (1995), controversial for expressing his view that reunification was a mistake; and My Century (1999). He is also a sculptor and printmaker. He received the Nobel Prize in 1999.

Britannica Concise

Any of many low, green, nonwoody plants that make up the families Poaceae (or Gramineae), Cyperaceae (sedges), and Juncaceae (rushes). Only the approximately 8,000-10,000 species in the family Poaceae are true grasses. They are economically the most important of all flowering plants because of their nutritious grains and soil-forming function, and they have the most widespread distribution and the largest number of individuals. The cereal grasses include wheat, corn (maize), rice, rye, oats, barley, and millet. Grasses provide forage for grazing animals, shelter for wildlife, and construction materials, furniture, utensils, and food for humans. Some species are grown as garden ornamentals, cultivated as turf for lawns and recreational areas, or used as cover plants for erosion control. Most have round stems that are hollow between the joints, bladelike leaves, and extensively branching fibrous root systems.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a vegetation belonging to a group of small plants with green blades that are eaten by cattle, horses, sheep, etc. b any species of this. c any plant of the family Gramineae, which includes cereals, reeds, and bamboos. 2 pasture land. 3 grass-covered ground, a lawn (keep off the grass). 4 grazing (out to grass; be at grass). 5 sl. marijuana. 6 Brit. sl. an informer, esp. a police informer. 7 the earth's surface above a mine; the pit-head. 8 sl. asparagus. --v. 1 tr. cover with turf. 2 tr. US provide with pasture. 3 Brit. sl. a tr. betray, esp. to the police. b intr. inform the police. 4 tr. knock down; fell (an opponent). 5 tr. a bring (a fish) to the bank. b bring down (a bird) by a shot. Phrases and idioms: at grass out of work, on holiday, etc. grass bird Austral. any of various warblers, esp. of the genus Megalurus, living among reeds. grass-box a receptacle for cut grass on a lawnmower. grass-cloth a linen-like cloth woven from ramie etc. grass court a grass-covered lawn-tennis court. grass of Parnassus a herbaceous plant, Parnassia palustris. grass parakeet Austral. a parakeet, esp. of the genus Neophema, frequenting grassland. grass roots 1 a fundamental level or source. 2 ordinary people, esp. as voters; the rank and file of an organization, esp. a political party. grass skirt a skirt made of long grass and leaves fastened to a waistband. grass snake 1 Brit. the common ringed snake, Natrix natrix. 2 US the common greensnake, Opheodrys vernalis. grass tree = BLACKBOY. grass widow (or widower) a person whose husband (or wife) is away for a prolonged period. grass-wrack eel-grass. not let the grass grow under one's feet be quick to act or to seize an opportunity. Derivatives: grassless adj. grasslike adj. Etymology: OE græs f. Gmc, rel. to GREEN, GROW

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ray grass Ray" grass`, [Etymol. of ray is uncertain.] (Bot.) A perennial European grass (Lolium perenne); -- called also rye grass, and red darnel. See Darnel, and Grass. Italian ray, or rye, grass. See Darnel, and Grass.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grass Grass, n. [OE. gras, gres, gers, AS, gr[ae]s, g[ae]rs; akin to OFries. gres, gers, OS., D., G., Icel., & Goth. gras, Dan. gr[ae]s, Sw. gr[aum]s, and prob. to E. green, grow. Cf. Graze.] 1. Popularly: Herbage; the plants which constitute the food of cattle and other beasts; pasture. 2. (Bot.) An endogenous plant having simple leaves, a stem generally jointed and tubular, the husks or glumes in pairs, and the seed single. Note: This definition includes wheat, rye, oats, barley, etc., and excludes clover and some other plants which are commonly called by the name of grass. The grasses form a numerous family of plants. 3. The season of fresh grass; spring. [Colloq.] Two years old next grass. --Latham. 4. Metaphorically used for what is transitory. Surely the people is grass. --Is. xl. 7. Note: The following list includes most of the grasses of the United States of special interest, except cereals. Many of these terms will be found with definitions in the Vocabulary. See Illustrations in Appendix.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grass Grass, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Grassed; p. pr. & vb. n. Grassing.] 1. To cover with grass or with turf. 2. To expose, as flax, on the grass for bleaching, etc. 3. To bring to the grass or ground; to land; as, to grass a fish. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grass Grass, v. i. To produce grass. [R.] --Tusser.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(grasses, grassing, grassed) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Grass is a very common plant consisting of large numbers of thin, spiky, green leaves that cover the surface of the ground. Small things stirred in the grass around the tent... The lawn contained a mixture of grasses. N-MASS 2. If you talk about the grass, you are referring to an area of ground that is covered with grass, for example in your garden. I'm going to cut the grass. N-SING: usu the N 3. Grass is the same as marijuana. (INFORMAL) N-UNCOUNT 4. If you say that one person grasses on another, the first person tells the police or other authorities about something criminal or wrong which the second person has done. (BRIT INFORMAL) His wife wants him to grass on the members of his own gang... He was repeatedly attacked by other inmates, who accused him of grassing. = inform VERB: V on n, V [disapproval] • Grass up means the same as grass. How many of them are going to grass up their own kids to the police? PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P 5. A grass is someone who tells the police or other authorities about criminal activities that they know about. (BRIT INFORMAL) = informer N-COUNT [disapproval] 6. If you say the grass is greener somewhere else, you mean that other people's situations always seem better or more attractive than your own, but may not really be so. He was very happy with us but wanted to see if the grass was greener elsewhere. PHRASE: V inflects

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(1.) Heb. hatsir, ripe grass fit for mowing (1 Kings 18:5; Job 40:15; Ps. 104:14). As the herbage rapidly fades under the scorching sun, it is used as an image of the brevity of human life (Isa. 40:6, 7; Ps. 90:5). In Num. 11:5 this word is rendered "leeks."

(2.) Heb. deshe', green grass (Gen. 1:11, 12; Isa. 66:14; Deut. 32:2). "The sickly and forced blades of grass which spring up on the flat plastered roofs of houses in the East are used as an emblem of speedy destruction, because they are small and weak, and because, under the scorching rays of the sun, they soon wither away" (2 Kings 19:26; Ps. 129:6; Isa. 37:27).

The dry stalks of grass were often used as fuel for the oven (Matt. 6:30; 13:30; Luke 12:28).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

gras:

(1) chatsir, from a root meaning "greenness"; compare Arabic Khudra, which includes grasses and green vegetables (1Ki 18:5; 2Ki 19:26; Job 40:15; Ps 104:14, etc.). Isa 15:6 is translated in the King James Version "have," the Revised Version (British and American) "grass"; Pr 27:25, English Versions of the Bible "hay," margin "Hebrew grass"; Nu 11:5 English Versions of the Bible translates "leeks." It is a term for herbage in general.

(2) deshe', from root meaning "to sprout abundantly." Generally translated "tender grass" (Ge 1:11 f; 2Sa 23:4; Job 6:5; Isa 15:6; 66:14; Jer 14:5, etc.); translated "grass" (Job 6:5; Jer 14:5); translated "herb" (2Ki 19:26; Ps 27:2; Isa 37:27; 66:14). In Jer 50:11 we have "heifer at grass" (deshe') in the King James Version and the Revised Version, margin, but in the Revised Version (British and American) "heifer that treadeth out the grain." (dethe'), the Aramaic form, occurs in Da 4:15,23, and is translated "tender grass."

(3) chashash, probably "dry" or "cut grass"; compare Arabic chashesh, "dry fodder" or "cut grass" (Isa 5:24, the King James Version "chaff," the Revised Version (British and American) "dry grass"; Isa 33:11, English Versions of the Bible "chaff").

(4) leqesh, from root meaning "to come late," hence used in Am 7:1 for the "latter growth" of grass after mowing.

(5) yereq, literally, "green thing" (Nu 22:4, elsewhere translated "herb").

(6) `esebh (De 11:15, etc.), generally translated "herb" (for (5) and (6) see HERB).

(7) chortos (Mt 6:30; 14:19; Mr 6:39; Lu 12:28; Joh 6:10; Jas 1:10,11; 1Pe 1:24; Re 8:7; 9:4); translated "blade" (Mt 13:26 Mr 4:28); translated "hay" (1Co 3:12).

There are 243 species of true grasses (Natural Order, Gramineae) in Palestine, but Hebrew, like modern Arabic, does not discriminate between these and other herbs which together make up herbage. Actual turf is practically unknown in Palestine, and grass seed is not artificially sown; young green barley is used in the neighborhood of towns as fresh fodder for horses and cattle. It is not the native custom to cut herbage for hay, though the writer has seen many carloads of sweet-smelling hay being carried from the land by Circassian settlers, East of the Jordan.

The "grass upon the house tops" (Ps 129:6; Isa 37:27), the growth which springs from the seeds mingled with the mud of which the roof is made, springs up quickly with the rains, but as quickly dries up before it reaches half its normal height--or not infrequently is set on fire.

Dew, rain or showers upon the grass are mentioned (De 32:6; Pr 19:12; Mic 5:7; Ps 72:6, "rain upon the mown grass," i.e. the grass eaten short by cattle).

E. W. G. Masterman

Moby Thesaurus

Bengal grass, DET, DMT, English rye grass, Italian rye grass, Kentucky bluegrass, LSD, Mary Jane, STP, THC, acid, aftergrass, alfilaria, antidepressant, ataractic, bamboo, barley, beach grass, beard grass, bent, bent grass, betray, black bent, bluegrass, board, bog grass, boo, bread, buckwheat, buffalo grass, bulrush, bunch grass, campo, canary grass, cane, cannabis, cereal, cereal plant, corn, cotton grass, crab grass, diethyltryptamine, dimethyltryptamine, dine, farinaceous plant, feather grass, feed, flyaway grass, fodder, fog, forage, forage grass, four-leaved grass, gage, ganja, give away, grain, graminaceous plant, grass veld, grasses, grassland, gratify, graze, grazing, hallucinogen, hash, hashish, hassock grass, haugh, haughland, hay, hemp, horsetail, inform, informer, joint, kava, lawn grass, lea, little quaking grass, llano, lovegrass, maize, marijuana, mead, meadow, meadow fescue, meadow foxtail, meadow grass, meadow land, meat, mescal, mescal bean, mescal button, mescaline, mess, millet, mind-altering drug, mind-blowing drug, mind-expanding drug, morning glory seeds, myrtle grass, nark, oats, ornamental grass, paddy, palm-leaved grass, pampa, pampas, pampas grass, papyrus, park, pasturage, pasture, pasture land, peach, peppergrass, peyote, pot, prairie, provision, psilocin, psilocybin, psychedelic, psychic energizer, psychoactive drug, psychochemical, psychotomimetic, range, rat, reed, reefer, regale, ribbon grass, rice, roach, rush, rye, satisfy, savanna, scutch, sedge, sell out, sesame, sesame grass, snitch, sorghum, squeak, squeal, squealer, steppe, steppeland, stick, stoolie, striped grass, sugar cane, sustain, swale, switch grass, sword grass, tattle, tea, traitor, tranquilizer, tufted hair grass, vega, veld, weed, wheat, wild oats, wine and dine, wire grass, woolly beard grass, worm grass, zebra grass, zoysia