fireweed

[ fahyuhr-weed ]

/ ˈfaɪərˌwid /

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noun

any of various plants appearing in recently burned clearings, as the willow herb, Epilobium angustifolium.

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Origin of fireweed

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; fire + weed¹

Words nearby fireweed

fire walking, firewall, firewarden, fire watcher, firewater, fireweed, FireWire, firewood, firework, fireworks, fireworm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use fireweed in a sentence

At peace on solid ground, I fell in love with the electric pink fireweed that popped out of nearly every opening in the trees.
Alaska Delivers the Goods in Glacier Bay National Park|Emily Pennington|April 15, 2021|Outside Online
Summer insects danced on the air, and a flock of white butterflies fanned the mobile tips of the crimson fireweed.
Summer|Edith Wharton
On every side the country was bright with the purple fireweed, which had sprung up from the ashes as if by magic.
Gold-Seeking on the Dalton Trail|Arthur R. Thompson
The fireweed, familiar everywhere in the mountains, shone like a tongue of flame against a background of green.
Jack the Young Canoeman|George Bird Grinnell

And everywhere in the burnt areas was the fireweed, that phœnix plant that springs up from the ashes of dead trees.
Tenting To-night|Mary Roberts Rinehart
There were great fields of fireweed, which presented masses of pink.
Canoeing in the wilderness|Henry David Thoreau

British Dictionary definitions for fireweed

fireweed

/ (ˈfaɪəˌwiːd) /

noun

any of various plants that appear as first vegetation in burnt-over areas, esp rosebay willowherb

Also called: pilewort a weedy North American plant, Erechtites hieracifolia, having small white or greenish flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)

an Australian rainforest tree, Stenocarpus sinuatus, having whorls of bright red flowers

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