- land covered with grass or herbage and grazed by or suitable for grazing by livestock
- a specific tract of such land
- (transitive) to cause (livestock) to graze or (of livestock) to graze (a pasture)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pas•ture /ˈpæstʃɚ/USA pronunciation
n., v., -tured, -tur•ing.
n.
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026n.
- AgricultureAlso called pas•ture•land /ˈpæstʃɚˌlænd/.USA pronunciation an area of ground covered with grass plants that cattle may eat;
grassland: [uncountable]The farm has twenty acres of pasture.[countable]driving past green pastures and white farmhouses. - Agriculture[uncountable] grass or other plants for feeding livestock.
v. [~ + object]
- Animal Husbandryto feed (farm animals, etc.) by putting (them) out so that they may eat the grass in a pasture.
- Idioms put out to pasture, [put + object + out to pasture]
- Animal Husbandryto put (cattle) in a pasture so they can eat the grass there:The farmer put his cows out to pasture.
- to dismiss or retire (someone) as being too old:Some of these old professors should be put out to pasture.
pas•ture
(pas′chər, päs′-),USA pronunciation n., v., -tured, -tur•ing.
n.
n.
- Agriculturea specific area or piece of such ground.
- Agriculturegrass or other plants for feeding livestock.
- Idioms put out to pasture:
- Animal Husbandryto put in a pasture to graze.
- to dismiss, retire, or use sparingly as being past one's or its prime:Most of our older employees don't want to be put out to pasture.
- Animal Husbandryto feed (livestock) by putting them out to graze on pasture.
- Agriculture(of land) to furnish with pasture.
- Animal Husbandry(of livestock) to graze upon.
- Animal Husbandry(of livestock) to graze in a pasture.
- Late Latin pāstūra, equivalent. to Latin pāst(us), past participle of pāscere to feed, pasture (compare pastor) + -ūra -ure
- Middle French
- Middle English 1250–1300
grassland.
v.t.
v.i.
pas′ture•less, adj.
pas′tur•er, n.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
pasture /ˈpɑːstʃə/ n