bluegrass

American  

[bloo-gras, -grahs] / ˈbluˌgræs, -ˌgrɑs /

noun

1. any grass of the genus Poa, as the Kentucky bluegrass, P. pratensis, having dense tufts of bluish-green blades and creeping rhizomes.

2. country music that is polyphonic in character and is played on unamplified stringed instruments, with emphasis especially on the solo banjo.

3. the Bluegrass. Bluegrass Region.

---

bluegrass British  

/ ˈbluːˌɡrɑːs /

noun

1. any of several North American bluish-green grasses of the genus Poa , esp P. pratensis ( Kentucky bluegrass ), grown for forage

2. a type of folk music originating in Kentucky, characterized by a simple harmonized accompaniment

---

bluegrass Cultural  

1. A kind of folk music for guitar, banjo, violin, other stringed instruments, and voice; bluegrass is distinguished by rapid notes and improvisation by the musicians.

---

Etymology

Origin of bluegrass

An Americanism dating back to 1745–55; blue + grass

Example Sentences

Stewart didn’t go for polyester suits or arenas, preferring the rough and rowdy “skull orchards” around Fort Pierce where he could alternate between hillbilly rock and progressive bluegrass.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

He's a massive Steelers fan, a music obsessive, and has played mandolin and guitar in bluegrass and country-rock bands in Brooklyn, Mexico City, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

The Porter Wagoner Show came next, followed by cross-over to pop music, movies, a network television show, award-winning collaborations with Kenny Rogers, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, and landmark bluegrass albums.

From Salon • Jan. 19, 2026

A former child prodigy on the mandolin, Hull opened the evening flexing her Berklee-trained chops in a series of lickety-split bluegrass numbers that got early arrivers whistling with approval.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2025

Mrs. Pontellier talked about her father’s Mississippi plantation and her girlhood home in the old Kentucky bluegrass country.

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin