kudzu

British  

/ ˈkʊdzuː /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of kudzu

from Japanese kuzu

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Explanation

Kudzu is a fast-growing vine that has a tendency to crowd out other plants and take over. It's really hard to get rid of kudzu once it's established itself in your yard — better call in a professional gardener. Kudzu is native to various parts of Asia, where it's used to protect soil from erosion and harvested for animal and human food, medicine, and basket making. In the 1930s, U.S. farmers began using kudzu to stop erosion, but it spread so rapidly and intensively that it was quickly labeled an invasive weed. Ever since, kudzu has appeared along highways and roads, and crept into yards and gardens throughout North America.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kudzu

In those days, there was a local committee seeking to get rid of kudzu, an invasive plant that blankets much of the rural South.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

“Almost inevitably, like kudzu in the summer, slavery started spreading in Georgia.”

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2024

I was drawn to one in particular, a crumbling two-story structure collapsing under the kudzu.

From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2023

The brilliant-but-troubled detective/cop-with-something-extra procedural has crept over the TV listings like so much kudzu, or, to be more local, bougainvillea — lovely to look at in many places but increasingly familiar in form and hue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2022

She’d stopped wearing her hair in pigtails, and now it ranged about her shoulders like kudzu, untamed, uncontainable.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

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