# grass

Pronunciation: US say "GRAS" /ɡɹæs/; UK say "GRAHS" /ɡɹɑːs/

## Noun

1. 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.
   - Simple: A common green plant with thin leaves that covers fields, lawns, and open ground.
   - _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._
2. An area planted with mowed grass, especially a lawn.
   - Simple: A flat area of short, cut green plants around a home or in a park.
   - _The gardener watered the grass every evening during the long dry spell._
   - _Families spread out across the grass for the summer concert._
3. Marijuana, the dried flowers and leaves of the cannabis plant, especially when smoked for pleasure. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Marijuana, a drug made from the dried flowers and leaves of the cannabis plant.
   - _Someone was smoking grass near the back of the venue._
   - _Police found a stash of grass during the late-night search._
5. The outside world or real life away from the internet, especially in the phrase "touch grass." *(slang)*
   - Simple: The world outside, away from screens and the internet.
   - _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._
4. Any of various plants that resemble true grasses but do not belong to the family Poaceae.
   - Simple: A plant that looks like grass but belongs to a different plant family.
   - _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._
8. An informer, especially someone who betrays criminal associates to the police. *(slang, British)*
   - Simple: A person who secretly tells the police about other people's crimes.
   - _Word spread that the robbery had been foiled by a grass._
   - _He was branded a grass and had to leave the area for good._
10. The season when fresh grass grows; spring or summer.
   - Simple: The time of year when fresh grass grows, in spring or summer.

## Verb

6. To cover a piece of ground with growing grass or with laid turf.
   - Simple: To cover an area of ground with grass or laid turf.
   - _The council decided to grass the old parking lot._
   - _Landscapers grassed the entire slope to prevent erosion._
7. To act as an informer; to report criminal associates to the police. *(slang, British)*
   - Simple: To tell the police about someone's crimes.
   - _They were sure someone had grassed them to the police._
   - _He would rather go to prison than grass._
9. To feed livestock with grass, especially by letting them graze on it.
   - Simple: To feed cows, sheep, or other animals with grass.
   - _They grass the sheep on common land throughout the warmer months._
   - _The rancher grassed his herd rather than buying expensive feed._
11. To bring someone or something down to the ground, as by knocking an opponent down or landing a hooked fish or shot bird.
   - Simple: To knock or bring someone or something down onto the ground, like a boxer or a caught fish.
   - _A single uppercut can grass even a seasoned heavyweight._
   - _The hard tackle grassed him near the touchline._

## Noun

12. Something transitory; a thing that flourishes briefly and then quickly fades. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Something that lasts only a short time and soon fades away.

## Other meanings

- (noun) Dense, jagged spikes that break up the trace on a cathode-ray tube screen, caused by random interference.
- (noun) Asparagus; the edible green shoots eaten as a vegetable.
- (noun) The surface ground level of a mine, above the underground workings.
- (verb) To spread flax or linen on grass so that sun and dew bleach it white.

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/grass (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).