What does "turf" mean?
A layer of earth covered with grass; sod.
Turf
/tɝf/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A layer of earth covered with grass; sod.
- Grammar: turf is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: sod, sward, alcohol, ambit.
- Useful contrasts: admit, bare ground, foreign territory.
- Usage evidence: A stone is heavy on its own turf.
How to use "turf"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "turf" 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 "turf" 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 "turf" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "turf" 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 "turf" is acting as noun, verb, slang 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 "sod" 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 "turf", 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 A layer of earth covered with grass; sod. uncountable
"Miss Thorn began digging up the turf with her lofter: it was a painful moment for me. ¶ “You might at least have tried me, Mrs. Cooke,” I said."
- 2 range of jurisdiction or influence wordnet
- 3 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. countable
""It's an old custom the people had when they bought and sold land. They used to cut out a clod and hand it over to the buyer, and you weren't lawfully seised of your land - it didn't really belong to you - till the other fellow had actually given you a piece of it - like this." He held out the turves."
- 4 the territory claimed by a juvenile gang as its own wordnet
- 5 A block of peat used as fuel. countable
"In ordinary peat-bogs, however, where turves are cut, there is always a large percentage of waste peat resulting from the digging, drying or transport of the turves, which can be utilized only by moulding it."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 surface layer of ground containing a mat of grass and grass roots wordnet
- 7 A thick, carpet-like bed of algae. countable, uncountable
"The turf layer is made up of filamentous and thallose red algae."
- 8 A surface of synthetic fibers made to look like grass; artificial turf. specifically, uncountable
"In climates where grass struggles to grow, turf is usually used instead on sports fields."
- 9 A territory claimed by a gang as their own. slang, uncountable
- 10 A person's domain or sphere of influence. broadly, uncountable
- 11 A racetrack, hippodrome. uncountable, with-definite-article
- 12 The sport of racing horses. uncountable, with-definite-article
Verb
- 1 To cover with turf; to create a lawn by laying turfs.
- 2 cover (the ground) with a surface layer of grass or grass roots wordnet
- 3 To throw a frisbee well short of its intended target, usually causing it to hit the ground within 10 yards of its release.
- 4 To fire from a job or dismiss from a task.
"Eight managers were turfed after the merger of the two companies."
- 5 To cancel a project or product.
"The company turfed the concept car because the prototype performed poorly."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To expel, eject, or throw out; to turf out. informal, transitive
"He has the mistaken idea that he is a lap dog, and loves to be nursed, especially by ladies, but eighty-five pounds on your lap is no joke, and he can never understand why he gets turfed off."
- 7 To transfer or attempt to transfer (a patient or case); to eschew or avoid responsibility for. transitive
""Sure thing, I buffed her, and they turfed her to urology, but she bounced back to me!" […] They want to transfer responsibility for her to another branch of the hospital (turf her)."
Antonyms
Example
"A stone is heavy on its own turf."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "turf"?
Common synonyms include: sod, sward, alcohol, ambit, archery ground, area.
How do you use "turf" in a sentence?
A stone is heavy on its own turf.
How do you pronounce "turf"?
Pronounced /tɝf/.
Etymology
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”).