weed
noun
a valueless plant growing wild, especially one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.
weed
1 American
[weed]
/ wid /
noun
-
a valueless plant growing wild, especially one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.
-
any undesirable or troublesome plant, especially one that grows profusely where it is not wanted.
The vacant lot was covered with weeds.
-
Informal. a cigarette or cigar.
-
Slang. a marijuana cigarette.
-
a thin, ungainly person or animal.
-
a wretched or useless animal, especially a horse unfit for racing or breeding purposes.
-
the weed,
verb (used with object)
-
weeds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
weeded,
past participle, past
-
weeding
present participle
-
to free from weeds or troublesome plants; root out weeds from.
to weed a garden.
-
to root out or remove (a weed or weeds), as from a garden (often followed byout ).
to weed out crab grass from a lawn.
-
to remove as being undesirable, inefficient, or superfluous (often followed byout ).
to weed out inexperienced players.
-
to rid (something) of undesirable or superfluous elements.
verb (used without object)
-
weeds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
weeded,
past participle, past
-
weeding
present participle
idioms
weed
2
American
[weed]
/ wid /
noun
-
weeds, mourning garments.
widow's weeds.
-
a mourning band of black crepe or cloth, as worn on a man's hat or coat sleeve.
-
Archaic. Often weeds
-
a garment.
clad in rustic weeds.
-
clothing.
-
Weed
3
American
[weed]
/ wid /
noun
weed
1
British
/ wiːd /
noun
-
any plant that grows wild and profusely, esp one that grows among cultivated plants, depriving them of space, food, etc
-
slang
-
tobacco
-
marijuana
-
-
informal a thin or unprepossessing person
-
an inferior horse, esp one showing signs of weakness of constitution
verb
weed
2
British
/ wiːd /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
weedsimple
-
weedssimple
-
have weededperfect
-
has weededperfect
-
am weedingprogressive
-
are weedingprogressive
-
is weedingprogressive
-
have been weedingperfect progressive
-
has been weedingperfect progressive
Past
-
weededsimple
-
had weededperfect
-
was weedingprogressive
-
were weedingprogressive
-
had been weedingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of weed1
First recorded before 900; Middle English wed(e), weid, Old English wēod; cognate with Old Saxon wiod “weed,” Middle Dutch wiet “fern”
Origin of weed2
First recorded before 900; Middle English wed(e), Old English (ge)wǣde, wǣde “garment, clothing”; cognate with Old Saxon wād, gewādi, Old High German wāt, gewāti; cf. wadmal
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He feels you have to "weed through" this to try and "maintain some sort of sense of taste".
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
This is a sport that named its bowl games for refrigerators, mufflers and weed eaters, and concludes a current one with the bleak, ritual toasting of an anthropomorphic Pop Tart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
So don’t weed your garden and pull them out.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
As in the Progressive Era, Americans want solutions to weed out government corruption.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
The question sprang up like a lone weed; ugly, and deeply rooted.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
As a result, enterprise software companies are increasingly doubling down on cybersecurity, according to Bernstein’s Weed.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 2, 2026
Or as Laurie Metcalf’s Weed makes clear in her hilarious monologue before the Central Park gig.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
“On balance, we can see the clear logic in this deal for ServiceNow,” Weed wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 15, 2025
The previous highest price at auction for a work by a female artist is Georgia O'Keeffe's Jimson Weed / White Flower No.1, which was sold at Sotheby's in 2014 for $44m.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2025
Our agent got close to the lightning thing and then some monster startled him and the old Weed shriveled.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
Flowering plants in pollinator gardens, agricultural fields, and residential landscapes often grow alongside weeds that are controlled with herbicides.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
In my case, I battled the weeds in my lawn for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Summer came too early to Europe's most important rice growing region and weeds are taking over Sharon Angoli's parched paddies in Italy's Pavia province.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
With the help of the flock, Lily eventually weeds out George’s murderer among the colorful townspeople, but not before “The Sheep Detectives” lands a couple of remarkable gut punches.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
At a bowl of brown hair, a big pair of glasses visible amid the clump of weeds and trees.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
That requirement has weeded out a lot of bad candidates for our investments.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
Khamenei leaves behind no apparent successor, largely by design, as he weeded out clerics that could rival his authority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
The new scheme "weeded out" those paid-for actions that were not delivering enough for the environment or food production and that it would "support food production not undermine it", she added.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
The long biotech winter cleaned up the sector: Many biotech companies that went public too early during the COVID-inspired biotech frenzy got weeded out by the sector’s subsequent weakness, Renna says.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2025
Calamity followed Finn as he weeded and watered their puny half acre of new vegetables—asparagus, kale, onion, beans, carrots, spinach, beets, broccoli, tomatoes.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
DraftKings and FanDuel, which dominate the sportsbook industry, have faced backlash for weeding out players who win too often and catering heavily to their biggest losers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Fast-spreading pioneer and weeding ferns created extensive fern savannahs.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
"While historic indoor markets present unique operational challenges, our maintenance teams are actively addressing immediate issues, including external weeding, deep cleaning, and structural upkeep," it continued.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
It was the acts of digging, weeding, watching something grow and sharing the abundance with others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
The workers woke early, and for the first few months they were “seasoned”—learning the numbing work of hoeing or weeding or loading the barges with cut cane.
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
