pokeberry

[pohk-ber-ee, -buh-ree]

noun, plural poke·ber·ries.

the berry of the pokeweed.
the plant.

Origin of pokeberry

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75; poke⁴ + berry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pokeberry

Historical Examples of pokeberry

The rascal had not used his own blood, but a red powder and the juice of the pokeberry.
Bolanyo
Opie Percival Read
Wild fruits such as grape and pokeberry also showed up in trace amounts.
Food of the Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos Brehm, in South-central Kansas
Dwight Platt
Lower still, the fleshy leaves of the pokeberry were all carmine-purple above and Tyrian rose beneath.
Wild Folk
Samuel Scoville
It wore a gay pink calico dress, and its cheeks were stained red with pokeberry juice.
Boys and Girls of Colonial Days
Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
In washing next morning I was off my guard, and got rid of the most of my pokeberry juice.
Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker
S. Weir Mitchell

British Dictionary definitions for pokeberry

pokeberry

noun plural -berries

Also called: inkberry the berry of the pokeweed
another name for the pokeweed

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