nettle
any plant of the genus Urtica, covered with stinging hairs.: Compare nettle family.
any of various allied or similar plants.
to irritate, annoy, or provoke.
to sting as a nettle does.
Idioms about nettle
grasp the nettle, Australian. to undertake or tackle an unpleasant task.
Origin of nettle
1Other words from nettle
- net·tle·like, adjective
- nettler, noun
- nettly, adjective
- un·net·tled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use nettle in a sentence
She locks the door behind them, and throws the key among the nettles that grew in a thick grove at her right.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuThe advance was through nettles and briers, up steep muddy banks and over fallen timber.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh PendexterHe saw beneath him a descent of some ten feet, and at the bottom a dense bed of stinging nettles.
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks | Bracebridge HemyngThe thicker the undergrowth of nettles and wild parsley, rushes and rough grasses, the more the whitethroat likes the spot.
The Hills and the Vale | Richard JefferiesThe path then becomes narrow and steep, and encumbered with brambles and nettles and stones.
The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney Hartland
British Dictionary definitions for nettle
/ (ˈnɛtəl) /
any weedy plant of the temperate urticaceous genus Urtica, such as U. dioica (stinging nettle), having serrated leaves with stinging hairs and greenish flowers
any of various other urticaceous plants with stinging hairs or spines
any of various plants that resemble urticaceous nettles, such as the dead-nettle, hemp nettle, and horse nettle
grasp the nettle to attempt or approach something with boldness and courage
to bother; irritate
to sting as a nettle does
Origin of nettle
1Derived forms of nettle
- nettle-like, adjective
- nettly, adjective
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
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