lawn

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   An area of ground covered with short, regularly cut grass, especially near a house or in a park.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a lawn' or 'lawns'. It can also be used as an uncountable idea ('mow the lawn'), but the countable form is more common for specific areas.

   Patterns

   • mow the lawn
   • a front lawn
   • on the lawn

   Every Saturday, he mows the lawn in front of his house.

   The children were playing on the lawn while the adults talked.

   We had a picnic on the lawn of the park.

2. 2noununcountableold-fashioned

   A fine, lightweight cotton or linen cloth, often used for summer clothing or embroidery.

   Grammar: Uncountable: you say 'a piece of lawn' or 'lawn fabric', not 'a lawn' for the material.

   Patterns

   • lawn fabric
   • a lawn handkerchief
   • made of lawn

   The vintage dress was made of delicate white lawn.

   She embroidered a handkerchief on fine lawn.

   In the 19th century, lawn was a popular fabric for summer shirts.

Word forms

Common combinations

mow the lawn

I need to mow the lawn before the party.

front lawn

They put a 'for sale' sign on the front lawn.

lawn care

He spends a lot of time on lawn care.

lawn party

The college held its annual lawn party in June.

Synonyms and how they differ

grass

Grass is the general word for the plant; a lawn is a specific area of cut grass, usually in a garden or park.

turf

Turf can mean a piece of grass with soil, or a lawn area, but it often refers to horse-racing tracks or peat; lawn is more specific to a mown grassy area.

Word family

lawnmower noun

A machine used to cut grass.

Commonly confused: lawn or lawn (tennis)?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “lawn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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