astroturf
US/ˈæstɹoʊˌtɝf/
astroturf is the alternative letter-case form of Astroturf.
Verb capitalized: Astroturf
Astroturf (third-person singular simple present Astroturfs, present participle Astroturfing, simple past and past participle Astroturfed)
- To cover with an artificial grasslike material.
- But what was there left to Astroturf? The sitting-room? Hugh's bald patch?2002, Wendy Perriam, Tread Softly, page 17
- Is it just me, or is it hard to find anyone nowadays to Astroturf your car?2006, Dick Wolfsie, Indiana Curiosities, 2nd, page 41
- To fabricate an impression of political support for an agenda.
- 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[…]2009 December 1, James Hoggan, Richard Littlemore, Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming, Greystone Books Ltd, →ISBN, page 197
- 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,[…]2011 April 15, Andrew Breitbart, Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World, Grand Central Publishing, →ISBN
Adjective capitalized: Astroturf
Astroturf (comparative more Astroturf, superlative most Astroturf)
- Of a group created by a larger organisation (especially a corporation or political party), but presenting itself as a grassroots organisation.
- Can we assure readers that astroturf letters will not appear as letters in The Star? Unfortunately, no. At least a dozen Web sites from which astroturf can be generated have been identified. Many more exist.2005 04, Richard Larsen, You, Sir, Are an Idiot: Newspaper Columns, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 125
- The defining feature of astroturf groups is that they are generated by an industry, think tank, or front group, but disguised to appear as a spontaneous, popular 'grassroots' effort. They are created to lobby or campaign on behalf of[…]2011 August 18, John S. Dryzek, Richard B. Norgaard, David Schlosberg, The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society, OUP Oxford, →ISBN, page 154
Noun (1) capitalized: Astroturf
Astroturf (plural Astroturfs)
- A campaign designed to appear like a genuine popular (or grassroots) movement, that does not have such popular support.
- An Astroturf campaign is a fake grassroots movement: it purports to be a spontaneous uprising of concerned citizens, but in reality it is founded and funded by elite interests. Some Astroturf campaigns have no grassroots component at all. Others catalyse and direct real mobilisations.2010 October 25, George Monbiot, “The Tea Party movement: deluded and inspired by billionaires”, in The Guardian, retrieved 26 Sep 2021
- Alternative letter-case form of AstroTurf.
Noun (2) capitalized: AstroTurf
AstroTurf (uncountable)
- A synthetic material used in sports grounds as a durable substitute for natural grass.
- 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 1966.2011, Rick Horrow, Karla Swatek, Beyond the Scoreboard: An Insider's Guide to the Business of Sport, Human Kinetics, →ISBN
- Synonyms:
- artificial turf
- Alternative form of Astroturf.
Synonyms of astroturf
Forms of astroturf
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | astroturfs |
| present participle | astroturfing |
| past participle | astroturfed |
| past | astroturfed |
| third-person singular present | Astroturfs |
| present participle | Astroturfing |
| past participle | Astroturfed |
| past | Astroturfed |
| alternative form | astroturf |
| Noun | |
| plural | astroturfs |
| plural | Astroturfs |
| alternative form | Astroturf |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more Astroturf |
| superlative | most Astroturf |
Origin of astroturf
See AstroTurf and astroturfing.
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.
Words formed from astroturf
Questions about astroturf
- What does astroturf mean?
- Astroturf means to cover with an artificial grasslike material.
- What is astroturf the alternative letter-case form of?
- Astroturf is the alternative letter-case form of Astroturf.
- What part of speech is astroturf?
- Astroturf can be a verb, an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce astroturf?
- Astroturf is pronounced /ˈæstɹoʊˌtɝf/ (US).
- What is the past tense of astroturf?
- The past tense of astroturf is astroturfed.
Words near astroturf in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: astroturf (page history and authors); Astroturf (page history and authors); AstroTurf (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “astroturf.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/astroturf. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.