GRASS


Meaning of GRASS in English

■ noun

1》 vegetation consisting of short plants with long narrow leaves, growing wild or cultivated on lawns and pasture.

↘ground covered with ~.

2》 a plant with jointed stems and spikes of small wind-pollinated flowers, predominant in such vegetation. [Family Gramineae: many species.]

3》 informal cannabis.

4》 Brit. informal a police informer.

■ verb

1》 cover with ~.

2》 (often ~ on ) Brit. informal inform the police of criminal activity or plans.

3》 land (a fish).

4》 chiefly Rugby & Australian Rules knock down.

Phrases

at ~ grazing.

not let the ~ grow under one's feet not delay in taking action.

put out to ~ put (an animal) out to graze.

↘ informal force (someone) to retire.

Derivatives

~less adjective

~-like adjective

Origin

OE græs , of Gmc origin; ult. related to green and grow . The sense 'police informer' is perh. related to C19 rhyming sl. ~hopper 'copper'.

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.