burdock

[ bur-dok ]

/ ˈbɜr dɒk /

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noun

a composite plant of the genus Arctium, especially A. lappa, a coarse, broad-leaved weed bearing prickly heads of burs that stick to the clothing.

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Origin of burdock

First recorded in 1590–1600; bur¹ + dock⁴

Words nearby burdock

burden, burdened, burden of proof, burdensome, burdizzo, burdock, bureau, bureaucracy, bureaucrat, bureaucratese, bureaucratic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use burdock in a sentence

One of the sheep, on its way back to the pen, saw a well-loaded burdock that had been overlooked.
The Red Cow and Her Friends|Peter McArthur
Only somewhere close by, persistently a great burdock leaf flapped and whispered.
Dream Tales and Prose Poems|Ivan Turgenev
This Clote leaf is by many considered to be the Burdock leaf, but it was more probably the name of the Water-lily.
The plant-lore and garden-craft of Shakespeare|Henry Nicholson Ellacombe
So she took it off and laid it under a big burdock plant leaf near the pond, to keep the flowers and ribbons dry.
Lulu, Alice and Jimmie Wibblewobble|Howard R. Garis

A few twigs of the burdock were cut off, and carefully wrapped in paper by the investigators.
Masterpieces of Mystery In Four Volumes|Various

British Dictionary definitions for burdock

burdock

/ (ˈbɜːˌdɒk) /

noun

a coarse weedy Eurasian plant of the genus Arctium, having large heart-shaped leaves, tiny purple flowers surrounded by hooked bristles, and burlike fruits: family Asteraceae (composites)

Word Origin for burdock

C16: from bur + dock 4

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