What does grass mean?
Grass is the familiar name for a large group of herbaceous plants with narrow leaves, jointed stems, and seed-bearing structures, as well as for the vegetation they collectively form. In everyday English, it usually means a lawn, meadow, pasture, or the individual leaves and shoots of these plants. The word can also refer informally to marijuana, and in British slang a 'grass' is an informer. As a verb, 'to grass' someone means to inform on them, while 'to grass' an area means to cover it with grass. The ordinary noun is generally uncountable, although 'grasses' is used in botanical and horticultural contexts. Grass is culturally significant because it forms lawns and pastures, supports many grazing animals, supplies fodder, and contributes to foods such as wheat, rice, and maize.
As a noun, grass refers to a member of the grass family, collectively to the vegetation composed of grasses, or to an area covered by grass. Informal senses include marijuana and, chiefly in British English, an informer.
"Horses were grazing in the tall grass beside the river."
The ordinary collective sense is an uncountable mass noun. The plural 'grasses' is common in botanical and horticultural language.
As a verb, grass means chiefly in British informal use to inform on another person. It can also mean to cover an area with grass.
"The groundskeeper will grass the bare patches in the spring."
The 'inform' sense is informal and usually associated with British English; it is often expressed as 'grass someone up.'
The plural is standard when referring to individual kinds of grasses, especially in botanical, agricultural, and horticultural contexts. Ordinary vegetation is normally an uncountable mass noun.
"These drought-tolerant grasses are well suited to Mediterranean gardens."
Grass turns a bare patch into a lawn—and, in British slang, the word also names the person who turns on a crime.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of grass
The English word descends from Old English gærs, meaning grass or herbage, which was inherited from Proto-Germanic *grasą. It belongs to a wider Germanic family that includes Dutch gras, German Gras, and Swedish gräs, all referring to grass. The native English term has long covered both the individual plant and the vegetation of an area.
Related word forms
How grass is actually used
In ordinary reference to vegetation, grass is normally an uncountable mass noun, so one says 'some grass' or 'a blade of grass' rather than 'some grasses.' The plural 'grasses' is standard in botanical and horticultural descriptions, such as 'ornamental grasses.' The verb meaning 'to inform on someone' is informal and especially associated with British English.
Easily confused with grass
A grasp is a firm hold or an act of taking hold, whereas grass is a plant, vegetation, or an informal term for an informer.