Standard Lemma guide

grass-eater

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

An organism notable for eating grass

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An organism notable for eating grass

A fish of species Distichodus rostratus or Distichodus engycephalus, of Africa

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A police officer who accepts offered bribes but does not actively seek them out.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A celibate man, especially a Japanese man, who eschews dating and sexual relationships.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory, slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: herbivore man

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From grass + eater; applied to bribe-accepting polics by the Knapp Commission in the 1970s.

Calque of Japanese 草食系男子 (sōshokukei danshi, “herbivorous/grass-eating male”).