crabgrass
5
3.4
- noun
- /ˈkræbˌɡræs/
:
hierba cangrejo
- We were talking about how to get rid of the crabgrass in our lawns.
- crabgrass on the lawn
- crabgrass and weeds
- pulling crabgrass
Examples
-
A severe outbreak of crabgrass occurred, which Napier attributes to weed seeds both in the compost and the soil mix.
Academic text (1997) -
Each junk-filled lot, each crabgrass-infested open space represents the possibility of transformation.
Blog text (4) -
Not one blade of crabgrass on the lawn.
Fiction book (1999) -
This place was crabgrass and weeds, and you brought it back to life.
-
There was no moss, no crabgrass, no weeds.
Fiction book (1995) -
As we eat apples, I lean back on my elbows and feel the damp ground through a patch of crabgrass.
Fiction book (1994) -
The small front yard hadn't been much tended during the long hot summer; large clumps of crabgrass and weeds had taken over the straggly grass.
Fiction book (1990) -
Hanna and Schwartz get out and cross the crabgrass, dirt, and debris-filled forecourt to a cheaply constructed wood and glass one-story building.
Fiction book (1995) -
Spring is an ideal time to seed bare ground, but crabgrass can get a foothold before the grass even starts.
-
Vigorous, adaptable, and fast-growing, crabgrass thrives best in lawns that are under-fertilized and mowed too low.
Synonyms
A grass with stems that spread along the ground and root, often a weed in lawns
A low lawn weed with smooth stems and leaves that spreads by seeds and roots
A grass that spreads quickly and grows as a common lawn weed
A grass used for hay that grows fast and often becomes a weed
Compounds
- Specialized
A low lawn weed with smooth stems and leaves that spreads by seeds and roots
Surface Forms
Morphology
crabgrass = crab + grass (semi-transparent) = crab + grass
Formally a compound of 'crab' + 'grass' so the components are visible, but the naming is metaphorical (referring to the plant's crab-like creeping habit) so the exact meaning 'weed with creeping stems' is not fully predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Crabgrass is simply crab + grass. Gardeners named it that because its thin stems spread out like a crab's legs and root easily, which is why it quickly takes over lawns.