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

This savory sugo is wonderful tossed with pasta and a handful of herbs.

From The Wall Street Journal

I do have some non-negotiables in my stuffing, though: real sausage, fresh herbs, must taste the celery.

From Salon

They also feature a beautiful medley of herbs, namely parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

From Salon

And many say they haven't come across the concept of coffees made with ingredients like mushrooms and ashwagandha - a herb some people think helps with stress - before.

From BBC

The “New York” part of the dish comes with the addition of chopped herbs and either poppy seeds or everything-bagel seasoning to the batter.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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