tussock

/ˈtʌsək/

Other forms: tussocks

A tussock is a clump or tuft of something, like the tussock of grass at the top of a hill.

Your grandpa might have an entirely bald head except for the tussock of gray on top of it, and your yard might consist of dandelions and one tussock of tall grass. It's most common to use this noun, in fact, for grass that sprouts taller than the surrounding growth. When tussock was originally used, in the 1540s, it meant "a tuft of hair." Its origin is uncertain.

Definitions of tussock

1. noun

   a bunch of hair or feathers or growing grass
   synonyms: tuft

   types:

   wisp

   a small tuft or lock

   hexenbesen, staghead, witch broom, witches' broom

   an abnormal tufted growth of small branches on a tree or shrub caused by fungi or insects or other physiological disturbance

   coma

   (botany) a usually terminal tuft of bracts (as in the pineapple) or tuft of hairs (especially on certain seeds)

   type of:

   bunch, clump, cluster, clustering

   a grouping of a number of similar things