noun

moss

mos

noun

A small, soft green plant without flowers that grows in damp places on ground, rocks or trees.

"Moss covered the north side of every tree in the forest."

"A thick carpet of moss grew over the old stone wall."

verb

To become covered in moss over time.

"The abandoned cottage had mossed over completely within a decade."

How to Use Moss

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe soft green growth found on damp surfaces like rocks, tree bark, or old walls.

Common pairings

covered in moss moss-covered grow moss

Word Forms

mossed past tense, mossed past tense, mossed past tense, mosses plural, mosses plural, mosses singular, mosses singular, mosses singular

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Can you complete this real example?

_____ covered the north side of every tree in the forest.

Etymology

From Old English mos, "bog, marsh, moss", tracing back to a Proto-Germanic root shared with the Dutch and German words for moss — the plant and the "boggy ground" sense come from the same origin.

Rhymes for moss

oss boss loss toss foss joss doss Voss Ross goss Hoss cross

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