grass

GRAS/ɡɹæs/GRAHS/ɡɹɑːs/

16 meanings of grass

1
green plantnouncountable or uncountable
Any plant of the family Poaceae, with leaves that grow from nodes along the stem and leaf bases that wrap around it, especially kinds grown as ground cover rather than for grain.
Several kinds of grass thrive in the shade beneath the old oak trees.
Farmers planted grass across the slope to keep the soil from washing away.
UsageSay on the grass or in the grass; the plural grasses means different kinds.
2
noununcountable
An area planted with mowed grass, especially a lawn.
The gardener watered the grass every evening during the long dry spell.
Families spread out across the grass for the summer concert.
UsageCommon in cut the grass, mow the grass and keep off the grass.
Similarlawn, turf, sward
3
marijuananounslanguncountable
Marijuana, the dried flowers and leaves of the cannabis plant, especially when smoked for pleasure.
Someone was smoking grass near the back of the venue.
Police found a stash of grass during the late-night search.
UsageSay some grass, not a grass: a grass is an informer in British use.
Similarcannabis, weed, dope, herb, ganja
Note
The Beatles' "Get Back" (1969) sends Jojo off to California to look for some, and the line uses the word for marijuana, not for a lawn or a pasture.
4
nouncountable
Any of various plants that resemble true grasses but do not belong to the family Poaceae.
In everyday speech, a sedge is often called a grass because of its long, narrow leaves.
Garden centers sell many ornamental grasses that belong to the sedge family rather than the grass family.

Less common meanings

5
offline worldnounslanguncountable
The outside world or real life away from the internet, especially in the phrase "touch grass."
The forums kept telling him to log off and touch grass.
She realized she needed to touch grass after a month glued to her phone.
UsageMost often in touch grass, a jab at someone who spends too long online.
6
cover with turfverbtransitive
To cover a piece of ground with growing grass or with laid turf.
The council decided to grass the old parking lot.
Landscapers grassed the entire slope to prevent erosion.
Similarturf, sod, seed
7
verbslangBritishtransitive or intransitive
To act as an informer; to report criminal associates to the police.
They were sure someone had grassed them to the police.
He would rather go to prison than grass.
UsageMost often grass on someone, or grass someone up.
Similarinform, snitch, squeal, denounce, finger
Note
Thieves' slang that has kept its edge. William S. Burroughs uses it in Naked Lunch ("Grassed on me he did") and glosses it as English thief slang for "inform."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
William S. Burroughs uses the quoted words in Naked Lunch; they are spoken by the narrator. groveatlantic.com
The book glosses grass as English thief slang for inform. groveatlantic.com
8
informernounslangBritishcountable
An informer, especially someone who betrays criminal associates to the police.
Word spread that the robbery had been foiled by a grass.
He was branded a grass and had to leave the area for good.
UsageOften in warnings and accusations: don't be a grass, branded a grass.
Similarinformer, informant, rat, mole, snitch
Note
British criminal slang, and a charge rather than a neutral label: calling someone a grass marks them as a traitor. In 2023 Metro, London, reported a man's claim that a £10,000 bounty had been put on his head because he was rumored to be one.
9
pastureverbtransitive
To feed livestock with grass, especially by letting them graze on it.
They grass the sheep on common land throughout the warmer months.
The rancher grassed his herd rather than buying expensive feed.
Similargraze, pasture
10
spring seasonnouncountable or uncountable
The season when fresh grass grows; spring or summer.
Similarspring, springtime
11
knock downverbtransitive
To bring someone or something down to the ground, as by knocking an opponent down or landing a hooked fish or shot bird.
A single uppercut can grass even a seasoned heavyweight.
The hard tackle grassed him near the touchline.
Similarfloor, fell, flatten
Note
A fighting verb from the nineteenth century. Dickens's Dombey and Son has a boxer "severely fibbed… and heavily grassed." In Conan Doyle's The Naval Treaty (1893), the speaker must "grass him twice" against a knife. Its nearest plain synonyms are floor and flatten. Read the context, since "grassed him" can also mean informed on him.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
The fighting sense is attested in the nineteenth century. gutenberg.org
Charles Dickens's Dombey and Son describes the boxer called the Chicken using the quoted wording. gutenberg.org
The Naval Treaty is by Arthur Conan Doyle and was first published in 1893, in the October and November Strand issues. en.wikisource.org
The quoted words are spoken by Sherlock Holmes, describing his struggle with Joseph Harrison, who attacked him with a knife. en.wikisource.org
12
nounobsoletefigurativelycountable
Something transitory; a thing that flourishes briefly and then quickly fades.
The grasse withereth, the flowre fadeth; because the spirit of the Lord bloweth vpon it: surely the people is grasse.
1611, The Holy Bible, King James Version
Note
An obsolete figure with one great source in English: the King James Bible of 1611, where "the grasse withereth, the flowre fadeth… surely the people is grasse." The metaphor rests on how quickly grass springs up and fades. Today it survives only as an echo of that verse.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Grass has an obsolete figurative sense meaning something transitory. en.wiktionary.org
The King James Bible was published in 1611. en.wikisource.org
Isaiah 40:7 in the 1611 King James Bible contains the quoted words and supplies an example of the metaphor. kingjamesbibleonline.org
The biblical metaphor compares human transience to grass rapidly growing and withering. en.wiktionary.org
13
noun
Dense, jagged spikes that break up the trace on a cathode-ray tube screen, caused by random interference.
14
noun
Asparagus; the edible green shoots eaten as a vegetable.
15
noun
The surface ground level of a mine, above the underground workings.
16
verb
To spread flax or linen on grass so that sun and dew bleach it white.

Practice

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Origin

Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁-, a root meaning "to grow," gave Proto-Germanic *grasą, which became Old English græs and Middle English gras. Grow and green are related words, and there are cognates throughout the Germanic languages. For the "informer" meaning, the likely source is a shortened grasshopper, rhyming slang for "copper" or "shopper," but how exactly it developed is unclear.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

Proto-Germanic *grasą derives from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁-, meaning “to grow.” en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Germanic *grasą became Old English græs and Middle English gras. en.wiktionary.org
Grow and green are etymologically related to grass. en.wiktionary.org
Grass has cognates across the Germanic languages. en.wiktionary.org
The informer sense probably shortens grasshopper, rhyming slang for copper or shopper; the precise development is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org