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PlainSpell

turf

/tɝf/noun, verb

turf is spelled T-U-R-F: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.8 times per million words in written English, the 10,196th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, turf means “A layer of earth covered with grass; sod” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of turf is turfs or turves.

How many letters and syllables are in turf?

Letters4: T-U-R-F
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing5.8 times per million words; the 10,196th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is turf?

Turf appears 5.8 times per million words in written English, the 10,196th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce turf?

  • US /tɝf/
  • UK /tɜːf/
  • /tʌɾf/

Turf has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-turf.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with turf?

5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as turf from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹf/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of turf

  • turfs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • turves plural
  • turfing participle, present
  • turfed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does turf mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A layer of earth covered with grass; sod.

  2. 2

    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.

  3. 3

    A block of peat used as fuel.

  4. 4

    A thick, carpet-like bed of algae.

  5. 5

    A surface of synthetic fibers made to look like grass; artificial turf.

    In climates where grass struggles to grow, turf is usually used instead on sports fields.

  6. 6

    slangA territory claimed by a gang as their own.

  7. 7

    A person's domain or sphere of influence.

  8. 8

    A racetrack, hippodrome.

verb

  1. 1

    To cover with turf; to create a lawn by laying turfs.

  2. 2

    To throw a frisbee well short of its intended target, usually causing it to hit the ground within 10 yards of its release.

  3. 3

    To fire from a job or dismiss from a task.

    Eight managers were turfed after the merger of the two companies.

  4. 4

    To cancel a project or product.

    The company turfed the concept car because the prototype performed poorly.

  5. 5

    informalTo expel, eject, or throw out; to turf out.

  6. 6

    To transfer or attempt to transfer (a patient or case); to eschew or avoid responsibility for.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Turf in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchgazon (a layer of earth covered with grass; sod), une motte f de gazon (a piece of such a layer cut from the soil and…), hippodrome, champ de courses (a racetrack), gazonner (to create a lawn by laying turfs)
GermanRasen (a layer of earth covered with grass; sod), Grassode (a piece of such a layer cut from the soil and…)
Portuguesegramado (a layer of earth covered with grass; sod), torrão (a piece of such a layer cut from the soil and…), turfe, hipódromo (a racetrack), turfa (a piece of peat used as fuel), quebrada ((slang) the territory claimed by a person…)
Spanishcésped, terreno, territorio (a layer of earth covered with grass; sod), tepe, gallón, champa (a piece of such a layer cut from the soil and…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does turf come from?

From Middle English turf, torf, from Old English turf (“turf, sod, soil, piece of grass-covered earth, greensward”), from Proto-West Germanic *turb (“turf, peat”), from Proto-Germanic *turbz (“turf, lawn”), from Proto-Indo-European *derbʰ- (“tuft, grass”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after turf