bittercress

[ bit-er-kres ]

noun

any cruciferous plant of the genus Cardamine, including the white-flowered hairy bittercress (C. hirsuta) of widespread distribution and the purple-flowered coralroot bittercress (C. bulbifera), predominantly of Finland.

Origin of bittercress

First recorded in 1855–60; bitter + cress

Words Nearby bittercress

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bittercress in a sentence

"The Hairy bittercress is thriving, we thank you," John would answer.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, April 14, 1920 | Various
Among English weeds, the little bittercress that grows on dry walls and hedge-banks forms an excellent example of the same device.
Science in Arcady | Grant Allen

British Dictionary definitions for bittercress

bittercress

/ (ˈbɪtəˌkrɛs) /

noun

one of several perennial or annual plants of the genus Cardamine, that are related to lady's-smock, including hairy bittercress (C. hirsuta), a common weed resembling shepherd's purse, with which it is often confused: family: Brassicaceae (crucifers)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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