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marijuana

American  
[mar-uh-wah-nuh] / ˌmær əˈwɑ nə /
Sometimes marihuana

noun

  1. a psychoactive narcotic drug rendered from the leaves and flowering tops of a cannabis plant, especially Cannabis sativa, used for recreational or medical purposes by smoking, vaping, or ingesting.

    He’s tried marijuana but claims it has no effect on him.

  2. the dried leaves and flowering tops from which the drug is rendered.

    Her personal stash of marijuana is rarely more than an ounce or two.

  3. any plant of the genus Cannabis, especially C. sativa, whose leaves and flowering tops have psychoactive properties.

    several acres of cultivated marijuana.
marijuana British  
/ ˌmærɪˈhwɑːnə /

noun

  1. the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant, used for its euphoric effects, esp in the form of cigarettes See also cannabis

  2. another name for hemp

"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 marijuana

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; from Mexican Spanish marihuana, mariguana; the traditional association with the personal name María Juana is probably a folk etymology

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.

A White House official told MarketWatch that the order was about reclassifying marijuana.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 18, 2025

Another study in Social Science and Medicine in 2013 concluded that “immigrant youth have a lower risk of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use relative to U.S.-born youth.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

The small South American country has a long history of passing socially liberal laws, legalizing marijuana, same-sex marriage and abortion long before most others.

From Barron's • Oct. 16, 2025

I don’t intend this column to be either a jeremiad or a lambasting of marijuana.

From Salon • Dec. 31, 2024

But in fact, Trulieve—which won Florida’s first medical marijuana license in 2015—had ties to Tallahassee Republicans when DeSantis was a congressional backbencher.

From Slate • Nov. 1, 2024

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.