thistle
noun
any of various prickly, composite plants having showy, purple flower heads, especially of the genera Cirsium, Carduus, or Onopordum.
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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
A Marin County park ranger was visiting her in-laws two weeks ago when she spotted a baby hummingbird hovering over a thistle in their backyard — or so she thought.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2023
June burst into bloom—daisies, larkspur, meadowsweet and thyme, foxglove and thimbleberry, purple thistle flowers, and yellow whorls of blooming fennel.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
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
Inverness Caley Thistle legend Charlie Christie - the father of Scotland star Ryan - will also be jetting out to the US with his family.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
It was far from a convincing performance against Thistle, hardly surprising given what was at stake, and the relief from fans and players alike was obvious after the game.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
As Thunder and Thistle began to dig, Woundwort crouched silently behind them, waiting.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Most thistles are weeds that are extremely prickly but have beautiful flowers.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2023
Modern cheesemakers in countries other than France often use other sources of rennet, such as microbial rennet derived from fungi or vegetal rennet from thistles, to coagulate their cheeses.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2023
Bellatine names their new possession Thistlefoot, remembering her mother’s comment that “people in our family, we’re born with thistles in our feet. It’s why we’re always traveling.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 27, 2022
Previously, there’s been Colorado lamb and, at another point, artichoke thistles on the menu — flown in from Santa Barbara and baked in gratin and white truffle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2022
The largest chunk, which the donors call “the field,” is a rectangle of overgrown weeds and thistles held in by wire-mesh fences.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
