bitterweed

American

[bit-er-weed] / ˈbɪt ərˌwid /

noun

any of various plants containing a bitter principle, as those of the genus Picris.
a sneezeweed, Helenium amarum.

bitterweed British

/ ˈbɪtəˌwiːd /

noun

any of various plants that contain a bitter-tasting substance

"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

Etymology

Origin of bitterweed

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; bitter + weed ¹

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

bitterweed

Three Sixes is good, too, and if you haven’t got the money for quinine or 666 there is bitterweed: make a tea of nine of the yellow flowers and drink it.

From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2013

North Carolina in October is a land of quiet towns, paved roads busy with the traffic of harvest time, fields bright with yellow bitterweed, people warmed and sleepy in the last hot suns of fall.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023