privet

American  

[priv-it] / ˈprɪv ɪt /

noun

• privets
  plural

1. any of various deciduous or evergreen shrubs of the genus Ligustrum, especially L. vulgare, having clusters of small white flowers and commonly grown as a hedge.

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privet British  

/ ˈprɪvɪt /

noun

1. 1. any oleaceous shrub of the genus Ligustrum, esp L. vulgare or L. ovalifolium , having oval dark green leaves, white flowers, and purplish-black berries

   2. ( as modifier )

      a privet hedge

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• privets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of privet

First recorded in 1535–45; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

privet privets

After half a century, the prison was abandoned and the land — apart from a police shooting range — was reclaimed by pines and privet, dewberry and muscadine vines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2023

The sites were relatively undisturbed by humans and didn’t have common invasive plants such as Chinese privet.

From Science Magazine ● Mar. 5, 2023

One of the auction staff described how "the privet hedge was left bare of every leaf because the people who attended wanted to say to their friends they had something from the house".

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2023

“We set out to lower the wall and the privet hedges,” Ms. Wetenhall added, “and now people say we’re like a club without dues.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2022

It is out there in the privet hedge that lines the avenue.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison

Most people come to Bekonscot for containment and trimmed privets, for a place forever amber.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 23, 2018

The yard was so massed with tall privets that he couldn’t see much of the house.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Off we went, dodging laurels and privets, and poured out on to the lawn, a disordered company.

From The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer

Trust not too much to colour, beauteous boy; White privets fall, dark hyacinths are culled.

From The Bucolics and Eclogues by Virgil

Other plants that hold their leaves and are good for hedges are the common box and the privets.

From Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by L. H. (Liberty Hyde) Bailey