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kudzu vine

[koo d-zoo]
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noun
  1. 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.
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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

Historical Examples

  • 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
  1. a hairy leguminous climbing plant, Pueraria thunbergiana, of China and Japan, with trifoliate leaves and purple fragrant flowers
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Word Origin

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

n.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper