astroturf
/ˈæstɹoʊˌtɝf/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.46 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A synthetic material used in sports grounds as a durable substitute for natural grass.
Uncountable
verb
Alternative letter-case form of Astroturf.
noun
Alternative letter-case form of AstroTurf.
adj
Of a group created by a larger organisation (especially a corporation or political party), but presenting itself as a grassroots organisation.
Example Sentences
- "And then there's AstroTurf. Invented in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and patented by Monsanto in 1965, AstroTurf is the world's first synthetic turf used as a sports playing surface, coming to fame—and its name—when it was put into the Houston Astrodome in 1966."
- "But what was there left to Astroturf? The sitting-room? Hugh's bald patch?"
- "Is it just me, or is it hard to find anyone nowadays to Astroturf your car?"
- "We have been Astroturfed by some of the biggest players in the business. As you will read in the coming pages, a reasonable-sounding group called Americans for Balanced Energy Choices spent us$40 million during the last presidential[…]"
- "Even Maher reacted; his Achilles' heel is that even though he's a leftie, he exhibits clear contempt for the astroturfed audience he relies upon for his laughs. The awkwardness continued for a full, commercial-free half hour,[…]"
- "The opposition party in Washington and its Astroturfed Tea Partiers around the country could focus strictly on assigning blame for the disaster . At the direction of the field marshals of the rich right in Washington , the Tea Party was[…]"
Etymology
From astro- + turf, from its namesake trademark, in turn a reference to the Astrodome stadium in Houston, the first major sports venue to install artificial turf in 1966. The venue was named by its developer Roy Hofheinz, presumably a reference to the emerging identity of Houston as Space City. Originally marketed as ChemGrass.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈæstɹoʊˌtɝf/
Usage
- Uncountable
- American usage
- Transitive verb
Inflected Forms
astroturfs (present, singular)
astroturfing (participle, present)
astroturfed (participle, past)
astroturfed (past)
astroturfs (plural)
more Astroturf (comparative)
most Astroturf (superlative)