Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several grasses of the genus Lolium, native to Eurasia and often used for forage or for stabilizing soil.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun countable Any of several species of tufted grasses of the genus, Lolium.
  • noun uncountable A collection of plants of any of the species, as in a lawn or field.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of several annual or perennial Eurasian grasses

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Alteration of raygrass : ray, darnel (from Middle English rai, perhaps alteration of Old French ivraie, from Latin ēbriāca, from feminine of ēbriācus, drunk (from the plant's effects if ingested), from ēbrius; see inebriate) + grass.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

rye +‎ grass

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Examples

  • The local grass in Fort Myers is a very stiff broad-bladed variety, but we plant our test fields with annual ryegrass, which is more like the grass most mowers deal with throughout the rest of the country.

    Inside Consumer Reports Test Labs: Mower and tractor testing in Florida 2009

  • The local grass in Fort Myers is a very stiff broad-bladed variety, but we plant our test fields with annual ryegrass, which is more like the grass most mowers deal with throughout the rest of the country.

    Inside Consumer Reports Test Labs: Mower and tractor testing in Florida 2009

  • The exact projects TGAC will start work on will be determined by an independent Scientific Advisory Board, but future projects could include economically important organisms such as ryegrass for sustainable bioenergy production, the tomato to understand its anti-cancer properties and the sheep to help farmers develop disease resistant breeds.

    Health News from Medical News Today 2009

  • The exact projects TGAC will start work on will be determined by an independent Scientific Advisory Board, but future projects could include economically important organisms such as ryegrass for sustainable bioenergy production, the tomato to understand its anti-cancer properties and the sheep to help farmers develop disease resistant breeds.

    Latest stories 2009

  • I'd paint the walls something pretty and fresh, like a green, maybe 'ryegrass' from behr.

    Apartment Therapy Main 2009

  • One of the problems with forage crops such as ryegrass and clover is that they have too much lignin, which can cause ruminants like cows to get sick.

    CattleNetwork 2009

  • Allergies to dogs, cockroaches, shrimp, ryegrass, Bermuda grass, birch, certain fungi and thistle also were more common in youths with the lowest Vitamin D levels.

    Vitamin D deficiency may be a factor in development of allergies 2011

  • There's a grim ring of truth to the episodes in which Mattie and her siblings make their own entertainment watching insects skitter across the surface of a septic tank; and there's no doubt that she knows her stuff when it comes to discussing tetraploid Italian ryegrass and distinctly unorganic compounds with names such as Promax.

    Hill Farm by Miranda France – review 2011

  • Deryl thought it a good idea to sow ryegrass around the house in the fall and clover the next spring.

    Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011

  • Allergies to dogs, cockroaches, shrimp, ryegrass, Bermuda grass, birch, certain fungi and thistle also were more common in youths with the lowest Vitamin D levels.

    Vitamin D deficiency may be a factor in development of allergies 2011

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