bramble
Americannoun
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any prickly shrub belonging to the genus Rubus, of the rose family.
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British. the common blackberry.
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any rough, prickly shrub, as the dog rose.
verb (used without object)
noun
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any of various prickly herbaceous plants or shrubs of the rosaceous genus Rubus , esp the blackberry See also stone bramble
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a blackberry
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( as modifier )
bramble jelly
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any of several similar and related shrubs
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bramblesimple
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bramblessimple
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have brambledperfect
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has brambledperfect
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am bramblingprogressive
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are bramblingprogressive
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is bramblingprogressive
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have been bramblingperfect progressive
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has been bramblingperfect progressive
Past
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brambledsimple
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had brambledperfect
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was bramblingprogressive
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were bramblingprogressive
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had been bramblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bramble
before 1000; Middle English; Old English bræmbel, variant of brǣmel, equivalent to brǣm- (cognate with Dutch braam broom ) + -el noun suffix
Explanation
A bramble is a bush or plant that's covered in thorns. You'll want to wear long pants if you're going to trek through the brambles looking for your lost cat. Those rough, prickly shrubs that grow along the fence and in which you're always losing your Frisbee? You can call them brambles. This word is most common in Britain, where it sometimes refers specifically to blackberry bushes. In fact, some Britons even call blackberries themselves "brambleberries." The Old English root is bræmbel.
Vocabulary lists containing bramble
Lord of the Flies
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Tuck Everlasting
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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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.
For long stretches, Fish and I walked in the bike lane, or in the bramble by the side of the road.
From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2026
The team stocked the foraging area with blackberry bramble and filled the surrounding moat with water to help keep the ants contained.
From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2023
This lively red from the Beaujolais cru appellation of Morgon is rich with cherry and bramble flavors.
From Washington Post • Jan. 12, 2023
Sarah Hills spent five nights at Croydon University Hospital in south London, where she filmed dirty walls, broken radiators and bramble growing through the window.
From BBC • Nov. 10, 2022
It is intensely shy, nests in bramble and thorn, eats large insects and fairies, flies only in heavy rain and otherwise remains hidden in its tear-shaped nest.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
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.
