herb

¹ American  

[urb, hurb] / ɜrb, hɜrb /

noun

1. a flowering plant whose stem above ground does not become woody.

2. such a plant when valued for its medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like.

3. Slang. Often the herb. marijuana.

4. Archaic. herbage.

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idioms

1. give it the herbs, to use full power, especially in accelerating a car.

Herb ² American  

[hurb] / hɜrb /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Herbert.

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herb British  

/ ɜːrb, hɜːb /

noun

1. a seed-bearing plant whose aerial parts do not persist above ground at the end of the growing season; herbaceous plant

2. 1. any of various usually aromatic plants, such as parsley, rue, and rosemary, that are used in cookery and medicine

   2. ( as modifier )

      a herb garden

3. a slang term for marijuana

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herb Scientific  

/ ûrb /

1. A flowering plant whose stem does not produce woody tissue and generally dies back at the end of each growing season. Both grasses and forbs are herbs.

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Other Word Forms

• herbless adjective
• herblike adjective

Etymology

Origin of herb

1250–1300; Middle English herbe < Old French erbe, herbe < Latin herba

Example Sentences

Sometimes we helped him pick through bundles of herbs, and he’d tell us all their healing properties.

From Literature

Freeze citrus peels, berries, fresh herbs or edible flowers into ice cubes and let them do the heavy lifting.

From Salon

There’s a candy dish in the lobby, which is awash in hues of cream and white, offering visitors gummies infused with passion fruit and the calming herb ashwagandha.

From Los Angeles Times

Frank showed him the kitchen, the boot room, the larder stocked with herbs and jars of preserves and beans and a startling number of tins of anchovies.

From Literature

The dip is nothing fancy: Greek yogurt, a squeeze of lemon, a swirl of miso and whatever herbs happen to be languishing in the fridge — usually dill and parsley.

From Salon

Related Words

• flower
• grass
• seedling
• shrub
• tree
• vine
• weed