herb

¹

[urb, hurb]

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.

Herb

²

[hurb]

noun

1. a male given name, form of Herbert.

herb

/ 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

herb

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.

Other Word Forms

• herbless adjective
• herblike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of herb¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of herb¹

C13: from Old French herbe, from Latin herba grass, green plants

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

Example Sentences

He was growing medicinal herbs, but in 2024 he found a plot of land with no electricity.

From BBC

Anything that will be used across multiple recipes — onions, peppers, garlic, carrots, herbs, sweet potatoes, celery — gets chopped, batched, and set aside all at once.

From Salon

Blanca Lucio likes to spend her mornings tending to her zucchinis, cucumbers, watermelons and traditional Mexican herbs at a small community garden near downtown Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

The main course, a whole fried sea bream, served with a ginger fish sauce caramel, peanuts, herbs, lemon, and wild pepper leaves to delicately wrap each fried morsel, truly blew me away.

From Salon

Stew beef and mushrooms sizzle in butter and herbs until browned.

From Salon

Related Words

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