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sagebrush

[seyj-bruhsh]
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noun
  1. any of several sagelike, bushy composite plants of the genus Artemisia, especially A. tridentata, having silvery, wedge-shaped leaves, with three teeth at the tip, common on the dry plains of the western U.S.
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Origin of sagebrush

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; sage2 + brush2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sagebrush

Historical Examples

  • Once clear of the sagebrush, she drew rein for him to come up.

    Out of the Depths

    Robert Ames Bennet

  • The air was filled with odors of camels, of cous-cous, of sagebrush.

    Sacrifice

    Stephen French Whitman

  • I must see if I can't contrive to make some sort of a shelter with this sagebrush.

    Deserted

    Edward Bellamy

  • The fire on Sagebrush sparkled like a single jewel in a vast setting.

  • Some one was coming along the rough trail through the sagebrush.

British Dictionary definitions for sagebrush

sagebrush

noun
  1. any of several aromatic plants of the genus Artemisia, esp A. tridentata, a shrub of W North America, having silver-green leaves and large clusters of small white flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)
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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

Word Origin and History for sagebrush

n.

1850, from sage (n.1), to which it has no biological affinity, + brush (n.2). Said to be so called for resemblance of its appearance or odor.

Sage-brush is very fair fuel, but as a vegetable it is a distinguished failure. Nothing can abide the taste of it but the jackass and his illegitimate child, the mule. ["Mark Twain," "Roughing It"]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper