thistle
noun
any of various prickly, composite plants having showy, purple flower heads, especially of the genera Cirsium, Carduus, or Onopordum.
Jump To:
thistle
American
[this-uhl]
/ ˈθɪs əl /
noun
-
thistles
plural
-
any of various prickly, composite plants having showy, purple flower heads, especially of the genera Cirsium, Carduus, or Onopordum.
-
any of various other prickly plants.
Thistle
1
British
/ ˈθɪsəl /
noun
-
(sometimes not capital)
-
the emblem of this Order
-
membership of this Order
-
thistle
2
British
/ ˈθɪsəl /
noun
-
any of numerous plants of the genera Cirsium, Carduus , and related genera, having prickly-edged leaves, pink, purple, yellow, or white dense flower heads, and feathery hairs on the seeds: family Asteraceae (composites)
-
a thistle, or a representation of one, as the national emblem of Scotland
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of thistle
before 900; Middle English thistel, Old English; cognate with Dutch distel, German Distel, Old Norse thistill
Vocabulary lists containing thistle
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Adidas' iconic three stripes feature along the shoulders and down the sleeves and a purple and green thistle motif, symbolising Scotland's national flower, is on the reverse collar.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
But Russian thistle is a monstrous piece of botanical grotesquerie, loathed by all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
Researchers from the University of Cologne have found a new use for Cnicin, a substance produced in blessed thistle.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2024
Q: I am wondering why you do not talk more about the benefits of milk thistle for high cholesterol.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
“I come from fields once tall with wheat, from pastures deep in fern and thistle; I come from vales of meadowsweet, and I love to whistle.”
From "Stuart Little" by E.B. White
Last year, zoo officials took in a trio of 3-month-old cubs, Fern, Thistle, and Spruce, after their mom was struck and killed by a car.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Representatives for Factor and Thistle said they had no record of providing any quotes to A Step to Freedom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Sammy Johnston:, external Played more than 200 times for St Johnstone and also featured for clubs such as Partick Thistle and Glenavon.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
Further spells with Adelaide United, Carlisle United and Partick Thistle followed before he retired from playing in 1980.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025
As Thunder and Thistle began to dig, Woundwort crouched silently behind them, waiting.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
"The only things that started growing were docks and thistles," said Pawsey, whose entire quinoa crop failed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
The florist-by-trade gestures behind her to hundreds of flowers contained in buckets — blue thistles, ivory anemones and calla lilies painted silver — all twisted and unfurling into the air.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2026
"The fascination of glow worms for me is that they are in effect magic," says ecologist Pete Cooper, as he tramples through thistles and nettles.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2023
Most thistles are weeds that are extremely prickly but have beautiful flowers.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2023
As I howled, feeling pain shoot through my limbs as the thistles of the brush encountered stubborn callouses, there was a loud knock at the door.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
