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Definition of peat moss
peat moss
Plural:peat mosses
peat moss Lexical Profile
CEFR
B2
Grade
6
Tier
2
Usage
Top 10k
• noun
1
The dark, dried, and partially decomposed remains of sphagnum moss, harvested from bogs and widely used in agriculture and horticulture as a soil amendment to increase moisture retention and acidity.
Example
"Before planting the blueberry bushes, the gardener worked several bales of peat moss into the soil to improve its texture and lower its pH."
2
Any of various highly absorbent, pale-green to reddish mosses of the genus Sphagnum that grow abundantly in dense masses in bogs, swamps, and wetlands, playing a key ecological role in water retention.
Example
"The researchers studied the living peat moss in the boreal bog to understand its capacity for sequestering carbon."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for peat mossUsage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Peat moss. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 16, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/peat moss