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tussock

tussock

1 8.9
A small thick clump of grass that stands above the ground
  • noun
  • /ˈtʌsək/
translation icon : matorral
  • Carson had a slug, then came up to where Maggie stood on a tussock of muddy alpine grass that seemed to have been chewed down by sheep.
  • tussock grass

You're thrown out in the, in, you know, in the wild snow, tussock, Bush, rivers.

Examples

  • Meredydd sat cross-legged on a grassy tussock, meditating on the alchemy inherent in light.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Tussocks of white grass protruded like hairy wens from fields of black slime and stagnant ponds.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Walking from tussock to tussock is best done in daylight, and even then with great care.

    Academic text (2002)
  • I picked a tiny flower from the tussock and smelled it.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • In December 1990, for example, I found the remains of bird 50650/40095 in her burrow beneath the tussock grass.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The coastline is fringed with six-foot-high clumps of tussock grass.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The larger Antipodes Island parakeet, considered to be the original colonist, feeds mainly on tussock and sedge leaves.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Here grew lichens, mosses, now and then a tussock of grass or a clump of dwarf willows.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Walking from tussock to tussock is best done in daylight, and even then with great care.

  • I picked a tiny flower from the tussock and smelled it.

Synonyms

tuft
vstussock
16 3.5

A small bunch of hair, feathers, or grass joined together at the base

stands out as a thicker clump that rises above its surroundings

Compounds

plumed tussock
  • New Zealand
9.9

A tall grass from New Zealand with feathery flower heads

tussock bellflower
  • Specialized
9.4

A plant that lives many years and grows in clumps with blue or white bell-shaped flowers

tussock caterpillar
  • Specialized
8.9

A caterpillar with small groups of hair that becomes a moth

tussock moth
  • Specialized
8.6

A dull colored moth whose caterpillars have tufts of hair and eat leaves of many trees

How Big

turf
48 2.7
patch
153 2.7
clump
39 3.0
tussock
1 8.9
tuft
16 3.5

Surface Forms

tussock singular
tussocks plural

Etymology

The word tussock comes from an old Scottish word that meant 'tuft' or 'clump'. So a tussock is a small, thick 'clump' of grass or hair that stands out from its surroundings.