knotweed

American

[not-weed] / ˈnɒtˌwid /

noun

any of several knotty-stemmed plants belonging to the genus Polygonum, of the buckwheat family.

knotweed British

/ ˈnɒtˌwiːd /

noun

any of several polygonaceous plants of the genus Polygonum, having small flowers and jointed stems

"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

Etymology

Origin of knotweed

First recorded in 1570–80; knot ¹ + weed ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And what’s Japanese knotweed, and why is it destroying Elizabeth’s house?

From Slate • Sep. 7, 2024

"This case is about the role played by diminution in value in cases of nuisance involving the plant Japanese knotweed," said Lord Justice Birss.

From BBC • Feb. 4, 2023

KINGSTON, Mass. — Asa Peters marched into a thicket of Japanese knotweed in the woods of coastal Massachusetts this month and began steadily hacking the towering, dense vegetation down to size.

From Washington Times • Aug. 24, 2022

“I was like, ‘Don’t go there, there’s knotweed everywhere,'” she said.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 11, 2022

The first cereal was probably millet—not the millet eaten today, which originated in Africa, but a cousin species, knotweed bristle- grass, which is no longer farmed.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023