Definition

1. Verb:
   • To weed: The primary meaning is to remove unwanted plants (weeds) from a garden, field, or other cultivated area.
   • To shoot up / to wipe out / to massacre: In a figurative and violent context, it means to destroy or kill everyone or everything in a place, leaving it barren.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to weed):

  • Tôi phải ra vườn làm cỏ. (I have to go to the garden to weed.)
  • Làm cỏ là công việc vất vả. (Weeding is hard work.)

• Verb (to wipe out):

  • Quân địch đe dọa sẽ làm cỏ ngôi làng. (The enemy threatened to wipe out the village.)
  • Bọn cướp định làm cỏ cả gia đình. (The robbers intended to massacre the whole family.)

Advanced Usage

• The violent meaning is often used in historical, military, or criminal contexts to describe total annihilation.

Variants and Related Words

• Nhổ cỏ (v): A more literal phrase for "to pull weeds," focusing on the action of uprooting.
  • Trẻ con giúp nhổ cỏ trong vườn. (The children help pull weeds in the garden.)

Synonyms

• To weed: to remove weeds.
• To exterminate: to destroy completely.
• To devastate: to lay waste to.

Related Idioms

• Làm cỏ sạch sẽ: To wipe out completely, leaving nothing behind.
  • Chúng muốn làm cỏ sạch sẽ khu vực này. (They wanted to wipe this area clean.)

verb

1. to weed, to shoot up