xeriscape

X8E1R1I1S1C3A1P3E1
UK/ˈzɛ.ɹɪ.skeɪp/US/ˈzɛɹ.ə.skeɪp/US/zɪɹ-/

noun

A kind of landscape design for arid regions, minimising the need for irrigation.

UncommonFirst used 1980sScrabble 20

Meanings

nounxeriscape (plural xeriscapes)

plural xeriscapes

  1. A kind of landscape design for arid regions, minimising the need for irrigation.First known use 1980s

    But Frank Fairbanks, a retired public administrator, had to sheepishly acknowledge that he had grass. “Unfortunately, like many of our central Phoenix neighbors, we have a green lawn which consumes more water than xeriscape,” he told the paper.

    2011 April 9, Marc Lacey, “Spraying to Make Yards Green ... but With Paint, Not Water”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2020
    2 more examples

    Randy looks up over the Impala and the retaining wall and the ice-clogged xeriscape above that and into the lobby of Waterhouse House, where Amy Shaftoe has her feet up on a coffee table and is looking through some of the extremely sad Cayuse-related literature that Randy bought for Avi.

    1999, Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon, London: Heinemann; republished London: Arrow Books, Random House, 2000, page 628

    Small, shrubby yuccas give your landscape a characteristic Southwest flavor. Their size adapts them to limited areas, such as patio and pool gardens or corner plantings. The blade-like leaves add variety to a cactus or xeriscape garden. Small yuccas make ideal accent plants, and when they send up their stalk of flowers, they become the center of attention.

    2013, George Oxford Miller, “Native Plant Profiles”, in Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas, 2nd edition, Minneapolis, Minn.: Voyageur Press, →ISBN, page 132
verbxeriscape (third-person singular simple present xeriscapes, present participle xeriscaping, simple past and past participle xeriscaped)

present singular third person xeriscapes · participle present xeriscaping · participle past xeriscaped · past xeriscaped

  1. To landscape in a water-friendly manner.

Origin

From 1980s Xeriscape, a term coined (and trademarked) by Denver Water. From xeri- + -scape.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

xeriscape. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xeriscape

MLA

“xeriscape.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xeriscape. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “xeriscape,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xeriscape.

Source: xeriscape on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.