grass
(grɑːs , græs )
Word forms: grasses , grassing , grassed
1. variable noun A1
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.
Synonyms: turf, lawn
2. singular noun A1
If you talk about the grass, you are referring to an area of ground that is covered with grass, for example in your garden.
In the old days, there were strict fines for walking on the grass or missing a study period.
I'm going to cut the grass.
3. uncountable noun
Grass is the same as marijuana. [informal]
I started smoking grass when I was about sixteen.
Synonyms: cannabis, blow [slang], pot [slang], weed [slang]
4. verb [Also VERB noun PARTICLE]
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. [British, informal, disapproval]
His sister wants him to grass on the members of his own gang. [VERB + on]
He was repeatedly attacked by other inmates, who accused him of grassing. [VERB]
Synonyms: inform on, shop [slang, mainly British], betray, denounce
Grass up means the same as grass.
How many of them are going to grass up their own kids to the police? [VERB PARTICLE noun]
5. countable noun
A grass is someone who tells the police or other authorities about criminal activities that they know about. [British, informal, disapproval]
6. the grass is greener phrase
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.
7. put out to grass phrase [VERB inflects] regional note: in AM, usually use put out to pasture
If you say that someone is being put out to grass, you mean they are no longer being employed because they are considered to be too old or no longer useful. [British, informal]
The Prime Minister refused to be put out to grass. Asked if he would quit, he replied: 'The answer is No'.
Phrasal verbs:
grass over
phrasal verb [usually passive]
If an area of ground is grassed over, grass is planted all over it.
The asphalt playgrounds have been grassed over or sown with flowers. [be VERB-ed PARTICLE]
grass up grass [sense 4]
Image of grass
© robert_s, Shutterstock
Idioms:
green as grass [British]
completely inexperienced or naive
The job we had to do was wholly new, and we were all as green as grass.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
put someone out to grass
to make someone retire from their job, or to move them to an unimportant job, usually because people think that they are too old to be useful.
The Prime Minister refused to be put out to grass. Asked if he would quit, he replied `The answer is no.'
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
like watching grass grow
extremely boring
Some people say that watching a cricket match is like watching grass grow.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
kick something into the long grass [British, journalism]
to refuse to deal with something immediately, often because it will create problems
There were suggestions this week that the Government intends to kick the proposals into the long grass.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
the grass roots
the ordinary people who form the main part of an organization or movement, rather than its leaders
The revolution is actually coming from the grass roots and I think eventually the authorities will follow.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
said to mean that other people may appear to be in a better or more attractive situation than you, but in reality their situation may not be as good as it seems
The old saying goes that, to many people, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and the majority of Britain's young people are no exception.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
a snake in the grass
someone that you strongly dislike and disapprove of because, although they pretend to be your friend, they are actually your enemy and betray you
He's just a snake in the grass. You can't trust that guy.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Collocations:
artificial grass grass hut grass lawn grass path grass pollen grass roof grass seed grass stem lush grass mow the grass ornamental grasses perennial grasses tall grass trim the grass wet grass wild grass
It is built in a former steel warehouse and has jumps, tunnels, artificial grass, plants and trees.
The Sun (2014)
Artificial grass has come on in leaps and bounds, and there's a range of looks to choose from.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Fifa also paid for its artificial grass playing field, the first in the Caribbean.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
His first home, he used to say, had been a grass hut.
Times, Sunday Times
Popular as a grass hut or beach fale in village tourism, many are raised about a meter off the ground on stilts, sometimes with an iron roof.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
That could mean roughing it - sometimes staying in grass huts with a bucket of water as a shower.
The Sun
They live in large, round, mud and grass huts, usually built on the top of sandhills.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Accommodation from grass huts to air-conditioned bungalows can be found on these beaches.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
The house has a grass lawn at the back.
Times, Sunday Times
Beyond the courtyard and grass lawn, a section of red cedarwood decking, matching the contemporary cladding at the back of the house, hides a secret sandpit and a paddling pool.
Times, Sunday Times
There are two grass lawn seating areas- one in left-center and one at the right field line.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Five of the six parterres were removed and replanted as a grass lawn.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Opened in 1990, the park includes nature trails along a small creek as well as a basketball court and grass lawn.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Don't enter; go right on grass path, keeping close to ha-ha/wall on left.
Times,Sunday Times
Just before reaching it, turn right past 'footpath' post; on along grass path with hedge on right.
Times, Sunday Times
A grass path leads across the fields with trenches.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
As she looks over a long grass path, she quickly forgets about the tea and wants to explore the gardens.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
It climbs up a steep grass path and turns into a section of wooden steps and a boardwalk.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Streaming noses, sneezes, itching eyes - the grass pollen season has begun, and so has seasonal allergic rhinitis, better known as hay fever.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Known allergy to grass pollen.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
With the wet winter, early spring and high grass pollen count, cases could rocket from as early as next week.
The Sun (2008)
And with summer forecast to be wetter than average, the grass pollen season will last into September.
The Sun (2015)
The peak season for grass pollen is June and July.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It has a grass roof and walls built from cob - a combination of mud, straw, sand and water - and 16in (40cm) logs.
Times, Sunday Times
A large hole was cut in the grass roof of her home so that the cutter would have light with which to work.
Times, Sunday Times
This property takes its name from its location on a tree-lined hill and its grass roof.
Times, Sunday Times
The bank opted for a 400mm soil and natural grass roof to help regulate the heat.
ST
Set in 6½ acres, it resembles a chic agricultural building, with a grass roof adding a sense of camouflage.
Times, Sunday Times
Hollows can also be filled with topsoil before you scatter fresh grass seed on top.
Times, Sunday Times
His solution was to spray the sand with a mixture of bitumen, grass seed and green paint.
Times, Sunday Times
Water the area well both before and after sowing the grass seed.
The Sun
After raking, new lawn grass seed needs to be applied at half the rate for sowing new lawns.
The Sun
Use a watering can to moisten the soil, scatter the grass seed over the top and lightly rake in.
Times, Sunday Times
They are less easily seen when they are clinging to a grass stem, since they always hold their wings closed.
Times, Sunday Times
These rise up as one walks through the grass, and settle again on a grass stem a little further ahead.
Times, Sunday Times
At night there are often a number of them roosting together on a grass stem, all with their heads hanging downwards.
Times, Sunday Times
At night, several of them often cling to a single grass stem.
Times, Sunday Times
They travel for miles this way, climbing a grass stem to spin a long thread of silk, there to launch themselves and travel on the wind.
Times, Sunday Times
Warm, damp weather means a thick carpet of lush grass.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The lush grass is adorned with Spanish iris, red poppies, French lavender and a hundred other blooms.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
American players are more used to lush grass around greens than Europeans.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The air blown into the room was cool and clear and brought with it the freshness of wet earth and mown grass.
THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS (2002)
We did not prune his roses but we mowed the grass and things like that.
The Sun (2014)
It's the time of year when the aroma of freshly mown grass is overwhelmed by the scent of high-octane fuel.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Freshly mown grass on a spring day.
The Sun (2012)
They look great mixed with ornamental grasses, and often self-seed around the garden.
Times, Sunday Times
Ornamental grasses fit seamlessly into a range of garden planting styles.
Times, Sunday Times
While many ornamental grasses will grow almost anywhere, they are happiest in a drier environment.
Times, Sunday Times
Many insectpollinated perennials provide the same movement and light texture as ornamental grasses.
Times, Sunday Times
Some ornamental grasses sail into the winter looking wonderful, then suddenly break up in an explosion of leaf litter one windy day.
Times, Sunday Times
A backbone of evergreen structural plants can be softened by perennial grasses.
Times, Sunday Times
They are often large, annual or perennial grasses, growing to 13 m tall.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Grass and leguminous crops accounted for 61% of total organic farming in 2005, followed by perennial grasses at 26%.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Examples of apparent plants that produce generalized protections include long-living trees, shrubs, and perennial grasses.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
These include perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushion plants, mosses, and lichens.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
He lowered it when he saw Justin high-stepping through the tall grass toward them.
MINUTES TO BURN (2001)
The bright scarlet arable plant emerged after army vehicles had driven back and forth over a certain part of the Plain, destroying the tall grass.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Something lay up ahead, wheezing in the tall grass of the westernmost livestock pen.
MINUTES TO BURN (2001)
These scenes were not uncommon, it was all part of the 'keep everybody busy' philosophy that explained the people everywhere trimming the grass with little scissors.
Times, Sunday Times
The animals served a practical purpose as wellthey trimmed the grass and fertilized the lawn.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Grazing herds trim the grasses, promoting rigorous growth and more numerous varieties.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Four-wheel drives can claw their way along mud tracks, wet grass and the occasional snowscape.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The rain had ceased and sunlight shone upon the wet grass.
Bomber
Heading towards the wall she walked purposefully forward over the wet grass.
HIDING FROM THE LIGHT
The remaining giants sleep, lost in deep, slow dreams, covered in earth and trees and wild grass.
Times, Sunday Times
A stranger came by and extracted the ball for him by making a chain of sarkanda (a wild grass).
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
The houses have been reduced to rubble and are overgrown with trees, thorns, and wild grass.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Evidence of baskets woven from wild grass has been uncovered.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
His wild grass refers to a plant that grows in a place where it has no hope of developing: in a crack in a wall, or a ceiling.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Translations:
Chinese: 草, 大麻, 背叛者
Japanese: 草, マリファナ marijuana, 密告者 informer
- to box someone's ears
- to break cover
- to break even
- to break new ground
- to break ranks
- to break someone's heart
- to break the back of sth
- to break the bank
- to break the ice
- to break wind
- to breathe a sigh of relief
- to breathe a sigh of relief
- to bring something alive
- to bring something to bear
- to bring sth to mind
- to bring the house down
- to bring up the rear
- to burn something to the ground
- to burn the candle at both ends
- to burn the midnight oil
- to burst into flames
- to bury the hatchet
- to bust a gut
- to call a halt
- to call a spade a spade