cowberry

American  

[kau-ber-ee, -buh-ree] / ˈkaʊˌbɛr i, -bə ri /

noun

• cowberries
  plural

1. the berry or fruit of any of various shrubs, especially Vaccinium vitis-idaea, of the heath family, growing in pastures.

2. any of these shrubs.

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cowberry British  

/ ˈkaʊbərɪ, -brɪ /

noun

1. a creeping ericaceous evergreen shrub, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, of N temperate and arctic regions, with pink or red flowers and edible slightly acid berries

2. the berry of this plant

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cowberries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cowberry

1790–1800; cow ¹ + berry, for Latin vaccīnium plant name (in New Latin: genus name), derivative of vaccīnus of cows; see vaccine

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cowberry cowberries

Already green shoots of bracken are bursting through the blackened earth and that will crowd out the traditional heather, bilberry and cowberry.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Also on the list of hosts is Vaccinium vitis-idaea, which includes the cowberry, lingonberry and mountain cranberry.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 11, 2016

Yet we found a certain eccentric charm in menus featuring "fern salad" and "boiled pieces of paste" for breakfast, and "burning mussels with rice" and "cowberry drink" for dinner.

From Time Magazine Archive

The cowberry, or red whortleberry, Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea, is sometimes sold for the cranberry.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 6 "Coucy-le-Château" to "Crocodile" by Various

The hut, being supplied only by helicopter, had diverse offerings such as goulash, cabbage salad with ham, and sugar pancakes with cowberries.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 26, 2022

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