cottonweed

American

[kot-n-weed] / ˈkɒt nˌwid /

noun

any of various plants having stems and leaves covered with a soft, hoary pubescence.

cottonweed British

/ ˈkɒtənˌwiːd /

noun

a downy perennial plant, Otanthus maritimus, of European coastal regions, having small yellow flowers surrounded by large hairy bracts: family Asteraceae (composites)
any of various similar plants

"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

Etymology

Origin of cottonweed

First recorded in 1555–65; cotton + weed ¹

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.

Going two miles this morning, we came to a little stream called the Little Cottonweed.

From Project Gutenberg

Pearly, or Large-flowered, Everlasting; Immortelle, Silver Leaf; Moonshine; Cottonweed; None-so-pretty Anaphalis margaritacea Flower-heads—Numerous pearly-white scales of the involucre holding tubular florets only; borne in broad, rather flat, compound corymbs at the summit.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023