bramble
Americannoun
-
any prickly shrub belonging to the genus Rubus, of the rose family.
-
British. the common blackberry.
-
any rough, prickly shrub, as the dog rose.
verb (used without object)
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brambles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
brambled,
past participle, past
-
brambling
present participle
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
-
-
a blackberry
-
( as modifier )
bramble jelly
-
-
any of several similar and related shrubs
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bramblesimple
-
bramblessimple
-
have brambledperfect
-
has brambledperfect
-
am bramblingprogressive
-
are bramblingprogressive
-
is bramblingprogressive
-
have been bramblingperfect progressive
-
has been bramblingperfect progressive
Past
-
brambledsimple
-
had brambledperfect
-
was bramblingprogressive
-
were bramblingprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
On bramble flowers, doubling the density of honey bees was associated with a 14% decrease in bumblebee abundance.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
This year, while contemplating navigating the bramble of union strike rules about what’s promotable during Hollywood’s dual writer-actor stoppages, the longtime Humanitas Prizes for screenwriters encountered an additional complication.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2023
The bramble was so thick, police used ladder trucks to peer into sections that could not be searched by foot.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2023
Witnesses told the BBC they had seen teams searching through thick bramble, allotments and bins, while people living in the area were told to look out for anything unusual.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2023
Having crawled through a bramble bush for the prickly poppy, I was feeling a bit prickly myself just then.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
Some locals think the capybara is thriving in her newfound independence, enjoying the hot summer from thick Hampshire brambles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
"They eat brambles like they are having supper."
From BBC ● May 18, 2025
We passed by apple, nectarine and pear trees, then blackberry brambles as large as a football field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024
Meanwhile, in nearby pastures and olive groves, the buildup of grasses, brush, and brambles was kept under control through a combination of livestock grazing, manual brush cutting, and occasional managed burning.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 26, 2024
I close the door and that blanket of brambles behind me.
From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor
That face — all determination and brambled beard — still fronts much of the league’s promotional material, including its “Don’t Cross the Line” campaign, which is aimed at improving fans’ behaviour.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 17, 2017
Over the brambled wall we saw cows lying down in a pasture.
From Penguin Persons & Peppermints by Walter Prichard Eaton
"You tiresome boy!" she gasped, holding one little hand to her side as she gripped her brambled skirt around her ankles with the other.
From Openings in the Old Trail by Bret Harte
The road back to Nature is full of her own secrets, and few who have trod the streets of the city remember the brambled return, or care.
From Every Soul Hath Its Song by Fannie Hurst
Thy feet she leads to glittering peaks, while mine She guides midst brambled roadways.
From The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 2 Jewish poems: Translations by Emma Lazarus
Your account of the greater brambling, or snow-fleck, is very amusing; and strange it is that such a short-winged bird should delight in such perilous voyages over the northern ocean!
From The Natural History of Selborne by Gilbert White
Your account of the greater brambling, or snow-fleck, is very amusing; and strange it is that such a short-winged bird should delight in such perilous voyages over the northern ocean.
From The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1 by Henry Morley
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
