nettle

American  

[net-l] / ˈnɛt l /

noun

• nettles
  plural

1. any plant of the genus Urtica, covered with stinging hairs.

2. any of various allied or similar plants.

---

verb (used with object)

• nettles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• nettled,
  past participle,  past
• nettling
  present participle

1. to irritate, annoy, or provoke.

2. to sting as a nettle does.

idioms

1. grasp the nettle, to undertake or tackle an unpleasant task.

nettle British  

/ ˈnɛtəl /

noun

1. any weedy plant of the temperate urticaceous genus Urtica, such as U. dioica ( stinging nettle ), having serrated leaves with stinging hairs and greenish flowers

2. any of various other urticaceous plants with stinging hairs or spines

3. any of various plants that resemble urticaceous nettles, such as the dead-nettle, hemp nettle, and horse nettle

4. to attempt or approach something with boldness and courage

---

verb

1. to bother; irritate

2. to sting as a nettle does

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nettler
  noun
• nettle-like
  adjective
• nettlelike
  adjective
• nettly
  adjective
• unnettled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nettles
  plural

Participles

• nettling
  present
• nettled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• nettle
  simple
• nettles
  simple
• have nettled
  perfect
• has nettled
  perfect
• am nettling
  progressive
• are nettling
  progressive
• is nettling
  progressive
• have been nettling
  perfect progressive
• has been nettling
  perfect progressive

Past

• nettled
  simple
• had nettled
  perfect
• was nettling
  progressive
• were nettling
  progressive
• had been nettling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will nettle
  simple
• will have nettled
  perfect
• will be nettling
  progressive
• will have been nettling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of nettle

before 900; Middle English; Old English netele (noun); cognate with Dutch netel, German Nessel, Norwegian netla

Explanation

If you know what a nettle is—it's a plant with stinging hairs—then you'll have no trouble remembering the verb nettle: it means to annoy, bother, irritate, or bedevil. A kid sister, a mosquito, an angry boyfriend, or a hot, muggy day: all of these are examples of things that might nettle a person. When you nettle someone, you act like a nettle; you annoy, bother, and generally tick off a person. The person who nettles you can be called nettlesome, which means that they're acting like a nettle. I find that the very sound of his voice nettles me. The sound alone makes me wish he would just shut up.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nettle nettles nettled nettling

On Friday, Burnham, whose father has Alzheimer's, said he was "prepared to grasp the nettle" to make changes adding, "the system's broken".

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

But he said not much had happened since because politicians were too afraid to grasp the nettle.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025

He said the government would "finally grasp the nettle on social care reform" but that it "would take time" to devise a model fit for the future.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2025

In “Chími Nu’am: Native California Foodways for the Contemporary Kitchen,” Olson shares dishes like elk chili beans, nettle tortillas, blackberry-braised smoked salmon and nearly a dozen recipes featuring acorns.

From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2024

Curled against itching nettle leaves, Omakayas eased her hand to her leg to scratch.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

Zookeepers then pivot to old-fashioned tracking, braving thickets of brambles and stinging nettles in search of footprints.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Leafy greens and herbs: arugula, spinach, beet greens, mustard greens, radish tops, kale, dandelion, nasturtiums, fennel fronds, nettles, lovage, microgreens.

From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2025

He also had to work to sustain the voracious creatures, foraging daily for nettles to feed them.

From Science Magazine ● May 20, 2024

Cook freezes them in ice cube trays, using them as sauce starters or in pesto, while Herrera makes cream of nettle soup by blending nettles with baked potatoes, milk, butter, garlic and concentrated chicken broth.

From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2024

“Come with me now. We will gather nettles and dandelion leaves.”

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

But the jab nettled a greater insecurity: that pregnant women shouldn't be single.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2021

The speeches nettled officials and brought him unwanted attention.

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2021

There’s a nettled rejoinder from George: “That’s a matter of taste. All down the line, people have liked my songs.”

From The Guardian ● Sep. 11, 2019

I thought it was an innocent question, but Jackson seemed nettled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2019

“A lot of the Soviet police are that way,” Garland said, visibly nettled.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

It is a far cry from the downtown encampment in Ottawa, where 18-wheelers blocked off city streets, aggravating local residents and nettling the police.

From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2022

It's the very speed at which something so artful in design, so ironic in idea, turns so tedious that is so nettling.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2014

But it is a rare playgoer who has no nagging, nettling memory of property or money lost, or of a move not made.

From Time Magazine Archive

It was a particularly nettling irritant just as the U.S. was deeply involved in making some hard decisions about its monetary policy.

From Time Magazine Archive

Which a little nettling him, his smooth tone changed to asperity, as addressing himself to the soldier, he gave the abrupt order: “Cabo! take them on to the carriage.”

From The Free Lances A Romance of the Mexican Valley by Mayne Reid