hardhack

[hahrd-hak]

noun

a woolly-leaved North American shrub, Spiraea tomentosa, of the rose family, having short, spikelike clusters of rose-colored flowers.

shrubby cinquefoil.

Origin of hardhack

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15; hard + hack¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hardhack

Mrs. Hardhack rushed past me as though every prisoner had got loose, and was running away.
Woman in Prison|Caroline H. Woods
And among other things he told me that a hardhack would turn into a huckleberry-bush.
The William Henry Letters|Abby Morton Diaz
Should a diarrhœa attend the malady, give an occasional drink of hardhack tea.
The American Reformed Cattle Doctor|George Dadd
Mrs. Hardhack stripped their beds, and counted their blankets.
Woman in Prison|Caroline H. Woods

Mrs. Hardhack would call him to account for letting her off with so slight a punishment.
Woman in Prison|Caroline H. Woods

British Dictionary definitions for hardhack

hardhack

noun

a woody North American rosaceous plant, Spiraea tomentosa, with downy leaves and tapering clusters of small pink or white flowersAlso called: steeplebush

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