cotton grass

noun

: any of a genus (Eriophorum) of sedges with tufted spikes

Examples of cotton grass in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Photos Wind rustles cotton grass in the Stampede area near Healy on Friday, July 7, 2023. Anchorage Daily News, 14 July 2023 Today, Ellesmere, which lies next to Greenland on the eastern edge of Canada’s Arctic Archipelago, supports only ankle-high tufts of cotton grass and mossy ground cover; the nearest tree is almost 1,200 miles south. Kendall Powell, Discover Magazine, 26 Feb. 2015 Southwards, the coast yields to low stands of dwarf birch and willow, sphagnum bogs of arctic cotton grass, pitcher plants, blueberries, lingonberries, and cloudberries. Juliana Hanle, Scientific American, 18 Nov. 2019 On Huvudskär, one of the archipelago’s final outposts, heather, cotton grass, and crowberry grow in rock crevices. National Geographic, 14 Nov. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cotton grass was in 1597

Dictionary Entries Near cotton grass

Cite this Entry

“Cotton grass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cotton%20grass. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!