kudzu vine

[koo d-zoo]

noun

a fast-growing Chinese and Japanese climbing vine, Pueraria lobata, of the legume family, now widespread in the southern U.S., having tuberous, starchy roots and stems: used for fiber, as food and forage, and to prevent soil erosion.

Origin of kudzu vine

1900–05; < Japanese kuzu, earlier kudu, of uncertain origin

Also called kud·zu.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for kudzu

Contemporary Examples of kudzu

Cats, the Times told us, are a pestilence akin to gypsy moths and kudzu.
The War on Cats: Jonathan Franzen and Bird-Lovers Fight Back
Ben Crair
March 21, 2011

Historical Examples of kudzu

Kudzu is not particularly new, but it seems to me destined to a much greater importance than at present.
Florida: An Ideal Cattle State
Florida State Live Stock Association
The Kudzu Vine is of wonderful rapidity of growth, and will be found a good substitute for a hardy vine about piazzas and porches.
Amateur Gardencraft
Eben E. Rexford

British Dictionary definitions for kudzu

kudzu

noun

a hairy leguminous climbing plant, Pueraria thunbergiana, of China and Japan, with trifoliate leaves and purple fragrant flowers

Word Origin for kudzu

from Japanese kuzu

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

Word Origin and History for kudzu

1893, from Japanese kuzu. Perennial climbing plant native to Japan and China, introduced in U.S. southeast as forage (1920s) and to stop soil erosion (1930s) and quickly got out of hand.