cocklebur

American  

[kok-uhl-bur] / ˈkɒk əlˌbɜr /

noun

1. any composite plant of the genus Xanthium, comprising coarse weeds with spiny burs.

2. the burdock, Arctium lappa.

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cocklebur British  

/ ˈkɒkəlˌbɜː /

noun

1. any coarse weed of the genus Xanthium, having spiny burs: family Asteraceae (composites)

2. the bur of any of these plants

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Etymology

Origin of cocklebur

First recorded in 1795–1805; cockle ² + bur ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cocklebur

He was struck by the fact that they liked to eat the spiky seed pods of cocklebur plants.

From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 2019

With Goldie serving drinks and secret codes like "this hangnail's a cocklebur," the money starts rolling in for both Trent and Abe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2015

Tight as a cocklebur Dictator-President Antonio Oscar de Fragoso Carmona stuck to the saddle of the restless Republic of Portugal last week, a saddle in which he has ridden for the past five years.

From Time Magazine Archive

Part confidant, part cocklebur, he served principally as a top adviser on foreign policy to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.

From Time Magazine Archive

In each prickly fruit of a cocklebur there are two seeds, only one of which grows the first year, the other surviving to grow the second year.

From Seeds of Michigan Weeds Bulletin 260, Michigan State Agricultural College Experiment Station, Division of Botany, March, 1910 by Beal, W. J. (William James)