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groundcover

groundcover

1 4.7
A low plant that spreads to cover the ground and stop soil from washing away
  • noun
  • /ˈɡraʊndˌkʌvər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cubresuelos
  • Many gardeners prefer to use native plants as groundcover to enhance biodiversity in their yards.
  • perennial groundcovers
  • groundcover plants
  • evergreen groundcovers

Examples

  • Creeping thyme is an excellent groundcover that adds beauty and color to the garden.

  • I also met the marble dog, seated in a mass of dark green groundcover.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The groundcover was crushed down where the statue had been, and the stems of the plants that had been underneath it were yellowish white, but the lion-dog was gone.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • My tiny front yard is currently a sea of mulch (not red, mind you) with some baby shrubs and slow-growing native groundcover spotted throughout.

    Blog text (28)
  • A small, low sign beside a sprinkler head in the landscaping groundcover says, "Auga Impura, No Tomar."

    Fiction book (2001)
  • "When he mentions the name, I recall seeing it off Route 95: a gigantic windowless groundcover, the sort of plant that seems to spring up overnight from a gaping crater.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The antagonist in my story is Aegopodium podograria, a pernicious sod-forming herbaceous groundcover that has run rampant over half of the garden beds.

    Academic text (1998)
  • In my garden, I used a low-maintenance groundcover to prevent soil erosion and suppress weeds.

Synonyms

ground cover
vsgroundcover
4 3.7

Plants that grow low and spread over soil to protect it in gardens

is the same meaning but written as one word
underplant
vsgroundcover
  • Specialized
6.7

A plant grown beneath larger plants to cover the ground

is broader used for covering open ground and preventing soil erosion

How Spreading

spreading
1 2.3
groundcover
  • Specialized
1 4.7
bush
112 1.0

Surface Forms

groundcover singular
groundcovers plural

Morphology

groundcover = ground + cover (semi-transparent) = ground + cover

While the components 'ground' and 'cover' are clear, the specific meaning of a 'low-growing plant' is a specialized usage not immediately obvious from the components alone.

Etymology

The word groundcover joins ground ('earth') and cover ('to protect' or 'to hide'), so it is easy to picture: a green 'carpet' that covers the earth. That's why a groundcover is a low plant that spreads over the soil to protect it and stop erosion.