large crabgrass

7.2

A grass used for hay that grows fast and often becomes a weed

noun
/lɑrdʒ ˈkræbˌɡræs/

: pasto cangrejo grande

Many gardeners struggle to control large crabgrass because of its rapid growth and spreading habit.

Examples

Large crabgrass can quickly overtake a neglected lawn in the summer months.
Farmers sometimes use large crabgrass as a forage grass for their livestock.
The garden was overrun with large crabgrass.
Farmers often struggle with large crabgrass in their fields.
Many gardeners struggle to control large crabgrass because of its rapid growth and spreading habit.
Farmers sometimes use large crabgrass as a forage grass for their livestock.
Large crabgrass can quickly overtake a neglected lawn in the summer months.

Synonyms

Digitaria sanguinalis

vslarge crabgrass

Specialized

9.9

A grass that often grows as a weed in lawns and fields and sometimes is used for animal feed

is the common descriptive name used in everyday contexts

hairy finger grass

vslarge crabgrass

9.6

A grass from Europe grown for hay and often a weed in fields

refers specifically to the exact species rather than a related grass

Surface Forms

large crabgrass singular

large crabgrasses plural

Morphology

large + crabgrass

This is a straightforward adjectival noun phrase: 'large' modifies 'crabgrass', so the meaning (a bigger or notably large specimen/species of crabgrass) is directly derivable from the constituents. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the phrase.

Etymology

Large crabgrass gets its name from the way crabgrass spreads: its stems grow out from the center like a crab's legs, and this species makes bigger clumps and seed heads so people call it 'large'. So the name means a big, spreading grass often seen as a 'weed' in lawns or grown for 'hay'.