bracken

[brak-uhn]

noun

1. a large fern or brake, especially Pteridium aquilinum.

2. a cluster or thicket of such ferns; an area overgrown with ferns and shrubs.

bracken

/ ˈbrækən /

noun

1. Also called: brake. any of various large coarse ferns, esp Pteridium aquilinum , having large fronds with spore cases along the undersides and extensive underground stems

2. a clump of any of these ferns

Other Word Forms

• brackened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bracken¹

1275–1325; Middle English braken < Scandinavian; compare Swedish bräken fern, Norwegian brake juniper

Word History and Origins

Origin of bracken¹

C14: of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish bräken , Danish bregne

Example Sentences

"The landscape has changed dramatically because the cows have been here for about three seasons and you notice there's very little bracken and there are bluebells coming up."

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It has since fallen or been cut down and now lies among the bracken.

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Gorse, heather, bracken and trees were removed to reveal the white boulders.

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He's been a zoologist "since I could walk" and his first words were trees, bracken and gorse.

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Standing in the Simonside hills area of the Rothbury estate in Northumberland, there is bracken underfoot and open countryside as far as the eye can see.

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Related Words

• scrub 
• thicket