astroturf
astroturf Lexical Profile
astroturf Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An artificial grass surface composed of synthetic fibers, used especially for sports fields and landscaping (often capitalized as a trademark, AstroTurf).
"The university replaced the natural grass stadium field with astroturf to reduce maintenance costs during the rainy season."
Deceptive political, corporate, or public relations campaigning designed to appear as a spontaneous, genuine grassroots movement when it is actually orchestrated by a hidden sponsor.
"Journalists quickly exposed the supposedly independent citizen protest as corporate astroturf funded by lobbying groups."
• verb
To disguise an orchestrated marketing, public relations, or political campaign as a spontaneous grassroots movement.
"The investigation revealed that the firm had been hired to astroturf social media with fake consumer endorsements."
To cover a surface, field, or yard with artificial turf.
"The homeowners decided to astroturf their small backyard so they would never have to mow the lawn again."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in 1966 as a trademark (AstroTurf) after the synthetic surface was installed in the Houston Astrodome in Texas; the political sense of 'astroturfing' emerged in the 1980s as a play on 'grassroots' (implying artificial rather than genuine public support).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.