kex

[ keks ]

/ kɛks /

Save This Word!

noun British Dialect.

the dry, usually hollow stem or stalk of various plants, especially of large plants belonging to the parsley family, as cow parsnip or wild chervil.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of kex

1350–1400; Middle English; of uncertain origin

Words nearby kex

Kewanee, Keweenaw Peninsula, kewl, Kewpie, Kewpie Doll, kex, key, keyboard, keyboardist, keyboard warrior, keycap

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use kex in a sentence

Cheers began to sound ahead, the familiar brek-e-kek-kex with the class numeral at the end.
Stover at Yale|Owen Johnson
Kex then trys his luck, but is unhorsed so rudely that arm and leg are broken.
Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail|Alfred Nutt
In her present mind, any man were a sweet refuge from that old kex.
Captain Ravenshaw|Robert Neilson Stephens
Kex, keks, n. the dry stalk of the hemlock or other umbelliferous plants.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various

Dairyman Viney is a very respectable man, and so is Farmer Kex, and we ought to show ourselves to them.
Under the Greenwood Tree|Thomas Hardy

British Dictionary definitions for kex

kex

/ (kɛks) /

noun

any of several large hollow-stemmed umbelliferous plants, such as cow parsnip and chervil

the dried stalks of any of these plants

Word Origin for kex

C14: of obscure origin

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