moonseed

[ moon-seed ]

/ ˈmunˌsid /

Save This Word!

noun

any climbing plant of the genus Menispermum, having greenish-white flowers and crescent-shaped seeds.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of moonseed

First recorded in 1730–40; moon + seed

Words nearby moonseed

moon rat, moonrise, moonrock, moonroof, moonscape, moonseed, moonset, moonshee, moon shell, moonshine, moonshiner

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use moonseed in a sentence

When she finished she picked up a trailing vine of moonseed.
The Harvester|Gene Stratton Porter
You see it on cultivated plums, grapes, and apples, but never in any such perfection as on moonseed and black haws in the woods.
The Harvester|Gene Stratton Porter
She learned the uses and prices of the plant, and also made drawings of cohosh, moonseed and bloodroot.
The Harvester|Gene Stratton Porter
These small fractions of her light remind one of the plant called moonseed,—as if the moon were sowing it in such places.
Excursions and Poems|Henry David Thoreau

Fig. 231, staminate, and 232, pistillate flower of Moonseed.
The Elements of Botany|Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for moonseed

moonseed

/ (ˈmuːnˌsiːd) /

noun

any menispermaceous climbing plant of the genus Menispermum and related genera, having red or black fruits with crescent-shaped or ring-shaped seeds

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