[turf] n, pl turfs also turves [ME, fr. OE; akin to OHG zurba turf, Skt darbha tuft of grass] (bef. 12c) 1 a: the upper stratum of soil bound by grass and plant roots into a thick mat; also: a piece of this b: an artificial substitute for this (as on a playing field)
2. a: peat
2. b: a piece of peat dried for fuel 3 a: a track or course for horse racing b: the sport or business of horse racing
4. a: territory considered by a teenage gang to be under its control b: territory
2. "have to play two of the last three games on hostile ~ --Joe Klein" "points toward the biographer's ~, not the critic's --Hugh Kenner"; also: a sphere of activity or influence "people who could hurt him on his own foreign-policy ~ --Wall Street Jour." -- turfy adj
[2]turf vt (15c) 1: to cover with turf
2. chiefly Brit: to eject forcibly: kick--usu. used with out