Meaning of AstroTurf | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Alternative spelling of AstroTurf.
   alt-of, alternative
2. A synthetic material used in sports grounds as a durable substitute for natural grass.
   uncountable
3. A campaign designed to appear like a genuine popular (or grassroots) movement, that does not have such popular support.
   US

Equivalents

Examples

“And then there's AstroTurf. Invented in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and patented by Monsanto in 1965, AstroTurf is the world's first synthetic turf used as a sports playing surface, coming to fame—and its name—when it was put into the Houston Astrodome in 1966.”

“An Astroturf campaign is a fake grassroots movement: it purports to be a spontaneous uprising of concerned citizens, but in reality it is founded and funded by elite interests. Some Astroturf campaigns have no grassroots component at all. Others catalyse and direct real mobilisations.”

CEFR level