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

Bunney, who said she has been stung a lot by jellyfish, compared a mild sting to that of a nettle.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

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

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

Anderson's future as a Test cricketer has been the subject of debate for years, but England have finally grabbed the nettle.

From BBC ● May 10, 2024

“I imagine you could make it up to both Lady Lackless and myself if you found some sweet nettle for the pot tonight.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

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

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

From Science Magazine ● May 20, 2024

But the khobeza is starting to run out, he said, so he now lives off a soup made from hot water and stinging nettles.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

There are so many curative properties of stinging nettles.

From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2024

On either side of the path there was a wilderness of nettles and blackberry thorns and long brown grass.

From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl

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

From Salon ● Aug. 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

The jolt of seeing him there where, only a few minutes before, I’d felt safe from observation nettled me.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 8, 2019

“Can’t a fellow take a little innocent amusement now and then without losing his respectability?” asked Laurie, looking nettled.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

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

"Ah-h!" said Agricola, further nettling his victim by a gaze of stagy admiration.

From The Grandissimes by George Washington Cable