I. grass 1 S2 W2 /ɡrɑːs $ ɡræs/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: græs ]
1 . IN FIELDS AND GARDENS
a) [uncountable] a very common plant with thin leaves that covers the ground in fields and gardens and is often eaten by animals:
She enjoyed the feel of grass beneath her feet.
a blade of grass (=single leaf)
b) [countable] a particular kind of grass:
All grasses need light to grow well.
2 . the grass an area of grass, especially an area where the grass is kept cut short:
I walked across the grass.
Keep off the grass.
3 . DRUG [uncountable] informal ↑ marijuana
4 . CRIMINAL [countable] British English informal someone, usually a criminal, who gives information about other criminals to the police – used to show disapproval SYN informer , stoolpigeon American English ⇨ ↑ supergrass
5 . the grass is greener (on the other side) used to say that other places or situations seem better than yours, although they may not really be better
6 . not let the grass grow under your feet to not waste time or delay starting something
7 . put somebody out to grass informal to make someone leave their job because they are too old to do it effectively
⇨ ↑ grass roots , ⇨ snake in the grass at ↑ snake 1 (2)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meanings 1 & 2)
■ verbs
▪ cut the grass
The grass in the back garden needs cutting.
▪ mow the grass (=cut it with a special machine)
I usually mow the grass once a week.
■ adjectives
▪ green
The cows moved slowly through the long green grass.
▪ tall/long
I walked with the tall grass brushing my knees.
▪ short
These mowers only work efficiently on short grass.
▪ coarse (=consisting of thick and large pieces)
The only vegetation was a few bushes and patches of coarse grass.
▪ damp/wet
His foot slipped on the wet grass and he fell.
■ grass + NOUN
▪ grass clippings/cuttings (=pieces of cut grass)
You can use your grass clippings to start your own compost pile.
▪ grass stains (=marks on clothing caused by grass)
It's going to be difficult to get the grass stains out of these trousers.
▪ grass seed
Now is the best time to plant grass seed.
▪ grass verge British English (=area of grass next to a road)
He stopped the car on the grass verge of the deserted road.
■ phrases
▪ a blade of grass (=a single piece of grass)
A few blades of grass poked out of the dry earth.
II. grass 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
( also grass somebody up ) British English informal to tell the police about a criminal’s activities
grass on
Burton grassed on other prisoners.
grass something ↔ over phrasal verb
to cover land with grass