Meaning & use
cordgrass
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Meaning
nouncountable or uncountablebiology
A tall, tough grass of the genus Spartina that grows in salty mud flats and tidal marshes.
Grammar: Uncountable for the plant in general: cordgrass covers the shore; countable for kinds: two species of cordgrass.
Patterns
- a stand of cordgrass
- cordgrass marsh
Cordgrass spreads across the mud flats at low tide.
Volunteers planted cordgrass to slow erosion along the estuary.
Small crabs hide among the cordgrass stems at high water.
Word forms
| plural | cordgrasses |
|---|
Common combinations
- smooth cordgrass
- Smooth cordgrass can grow taller than a person.
- cordgrass marsh
- The cordgrass marsh is a nursery for young fish.
- invasive cordgrass
- Invasive cordgrass has crowded out native plants in some bays.
- cordgrass meadow
- A cordgrass meadow stretched along the tidal river.
- planting cordgrass
- Planting cordgrass helps protect the shoreline from waves.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Spartina
- Spartina is the scientific genus name and appears in research papers, whereas cordgrass is the common name.
- marsh grass
- Marsh grass is a loose term for any grass in a marsh, while cordgrass names one specific group of plants.
- saltmarsh grass
- Saltmarsh grass describes the setting but could include other grasses, unlike cordgrass.
Word family
Commonly confused: cordgrass or pampas grass?
cordgrass vs pampas grass
Pampas grass is a tall ornamental grass from South America that grows on dry ground, not in salty tidal marshes.
Practice
Which place would you most likely find cordgrass growing?
Choose one answer.
Cordgrass tolerates salt and tidal flooding, so coastal marshes are its home. The other places are dry or lack salty water.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cordgrass”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.