What does "lawn" mean?
Ground (generally in front of or around a house) covered with grass kept closely mown.
Lawn
/lɔn/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Ground (generally in front of or around a house) covered with grass kept closely mown.
- Grammar: lawn is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: artificial turf, astroturf, backyard, backyard field.
- Useful contrasts: bare ground, desert, meadow patch.
- Usage evidence: Let's take advantage of the vacation to mow the lawn.
How to use "lawn"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lawn" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "lawn" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "lawn" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lawn" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "lawn" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "artificial turf" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "lawn", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Ground (generally in front of or around a house) covered with grass kept closely mown. countable, uncountable
"Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path[…]. It twisted and turned,[…]and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 'Twas the house I'd seen the roof of from the beach."
- 2 A type of thin linen or cotton. uncountable
"Two hundred Sempſtreſſes were employed to make me Shirts, and Linen for Bed and Table, all of the ſtrongeft and coarſeſt kind they could get; which, however, they were forced to quilt together in ſeveral Folds, for the thickeſt was ſome degrees finer than Lawn."
- 3 a field of cultivated and mowed grass wordnet
- 4 An open space between woods. England, countable, historical, regional, uncountable
- 5 Pieces of this fabric, especially as used for the sleeves of a bishop. countable, in-plural, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 An overgrown agar culture, such that no separation between single colonies exists. countable, uncountable
- 7 A piece of clothing made from lawn. countable, obsolete
"[…] she was as the wild yoncopin to the calla lily. Marjie knew how to dress. To-day, shaded by the buggy-top, in her dainty light blue lawn, with the soft pink of her cheeks and her clear white brow and throat, she was a most delicious thing […]"
Verb
- 1 To furnish with a lawn. transitive
"By opening all the arches of the several apartments […], by lawning the area within, and by a judicious use of ivy where any blank spaces require to be broken, or any deformities concealed, this might be made a beautiful and singular scene; […]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A town in Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
- 2 An unincorporated community in Pennsylvania, United States.
- 3 A town in Texas, United States.
- 4 An unincorporated community in West Virginia, United States.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Let's take advantage of the vacation to mow the lawn."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lawn"?
Common synonyms include: artificial turf, astroturf, backyard, backyard field, batiste, bowling green.
How do you use "lawn" in a sentence?
Let's take advantage of the vacation to mow the lawn.
How do you pronounce "lawn"?
Pronounced /lɔn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Early Modern English laune (“turf, grassy area”), alteration of laund (“glade”), from Middle English launde, from Old French lande (“heath, moor”), of Germanic or Gaulish origin, from Proto-Germanic *landą (“land”) or Proto-Celtic *landā, both from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- (“land, heath”). Akin to Breton lann (“heath”), Old Norse & Old English land. Doublet of land and lande.
Etymology 2
Apparently from Laon, a French town known for its linen manufacturing, from Old French Lan, from Latin Laudunum, a Celtic name cognate with Lugdunum.
Etymology 3
(Canada): From French L'Âne (“The Donkey/Ass”). (United States): From lawn.