dog grass
- noun
- US
:
hierba de perro
- Dog grass often invades gardens, choking out other desirable plants with its fast-growing roots.
Examples
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The park's meadows were dotted with patches of dog grass thriving among the native flowers.
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Some farmers struggle to eradicate dog grass from their fields because of its persistent rhizomes.
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The yard was overrun with dog grass.
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Many homeowners consider dog grass a nuisance.
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Dog grass often invades gardens, choking out other desirable plants with its fast-growing roots.
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Farmers find that dog grass can quickly take over their fields due to its rapid growth.
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Many homeowners view dog grass as an invasive weed that disrupts the balance of their lawns.
Synonyms
1
7.5
A European grass with long underground roots that spreads quickly and becomes a common weed
A fast-spreading European grass with long underground stems that is a common weed in gardens and fields
A common weed with long stems under the ground that spreads quickly through lawns
A fast-spreading grass with creeping roots that grows as a weed
Surface Forms
Morphology
dog + grass
This is a simple noun+noun compound where 'dog' modifies 'grass', so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer it denotes a kind/kind of grass related by name or association to 'dog'. While the precise botanical details (European species, growth habit, weed status) are not predictable from the constituents, the core meaning 'a type of grass' is compositionally transparent.
Etymology
Dog grass may come from the sight of dogs nibbling or rolling in patches of tough grass in yards and fields, so people linked the plant with dogs. Because it spreads quickly under the ground and often takes over gardens, the name came to mean this common 'weed'.