turf

Meaning

Noun

1. (uncountable) A layer of earth covered with grass; sod.
2. (countable) A piece of such a layer cut from the soil. May be used as sod to make a lawn, dried for peat, stacked to form earthen structures, etc.
3. (countable) A block of peat used as fuel.
4. (countable, uncountable) A thick, carpet-like bed of algae.
5. (specifically, uncountable) A surface of synthetic fibers made to look like grass; artificial turf.
6. (slang, uncountable) A territory claimed by a gang as their own.
7. (broadly, uncountable) A person's domain or sphere of influence.
8. (uncountable, with-definite-article) A racetrack, hippodrome.
9. (uncountable, with-definite-article) The sport of racing horses.

Verb

1. To cover with turf; to create a lawn by laying turfs.
2. To throw a frisbee well short of its intended target, usually causing it to hit the ground within 10 yards of its release.
3. To fire from a job or dismiss from a task.
4. To cancel a project or product.
5. (informal, transitive) To expel, eject, or throw out; to turf out.
6. (transitive) To transfer or attempt to transfer (a patient or case); to eschew or avoid responsibility for.

Synonyms

sod

lawn

grass

sward

peat

greensward

territory

grassland

meadow

field

ground

racetrack

racecourse

race course

race track

rush

throw out

verdure

yard

grassy place

bailiwick

grass over

bury

circus

clod

divot

glebe

green

hippodrome

kick out

kill

🔪🩸👤

lawns

playground

Translations

gazon

Rasen

césped

pelouse

Torf

Grasnarbe

torba

turba

çimen

prato

gazonner

erba

graszode

territoire

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tɝf/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: turf

Inherited from Old English: turf

Cognate with Dutch: turf

Cognate with Middle Low German: torf

Cognate with German: Torf

Cognate with Swedish: torv

Cognate with Norwegian: torv

Cognate with Icelandic: torf

Cognate with Russian: трава

Cognate with Sanskrit: दर्भ

In summary

From Middle English turf, torf, from Old English turf (“turf, sod, soil, piece of grass covered earth, greensward”), from Proto-West Germanic *turb, from Proto-Germanic *turbz (“turf, lawn”), from Proto-Indo-European *derbʰ- (“tuft, grass”).
Cognate with Dutch turf (“turf”), Middle Low German torf (“peat, turf”) (whence German Torf and German Low German Torf), Swedish torv (“turf”), Norwegian torv (“turf”), Icelandic torf (“turf”), Russian трава (trava, “grass”), Sanskrit दर्भ (darbhá, “a kind of grass”), दूर्वा (dū́rvā, “bent grass”).

Sentences

Heritage flung himself on the turf .

The turf and gravel around it seemed charred as if by a sudden explosion .