cress

American

[kres] / krɛs /

noun

any of various plants of the mustard family, especially the watercress, having pungent-tasting leaves often used for salad and as a garnish.
any of various similar plants.

cress British

/ krɛs /

noun

any of various plants of the genera Lepidium , Cardamine , Arabis , etc, having pungent-tasting leaves often used in salads and as a garnish: family Brassicaceae (crucifers) See also watercress garden cress

"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

Other Word Forms

cressy

adjective

Etymology

Origin of cress

before 900; Middle English cresse, Old English cress ( a ), cresse; cognate with Dutch kers, German Kresse

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:

cress

Eventually I want to do the cress full time, but this way I’ve been able to ease my way in, without taking on too much of a financial gamble.”

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2024

If thale cress were to be genetically modified such that the central cells produced the protein cyclin themselves, they would begin to divide even without fertilization.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2024

So far, nearly 200 plants have been trialled and several new candidate plants, including pak choi, cress and kale, were found suitable.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2023

To compare, the researchers also planted thale cress seeds in ash from volcanoes – a sort of fake lunar soil.

From NewsForKids.net ● May 24, 2022

And I had had nothing to eat yet myself, except some milk and a couple of sprigs of field cress.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

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