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:
If I’m reading my wildflowers handbook right, these were tidy tips, Goldfields, Owl’s Clover, thistle sage, Valley Larkspur, coreopsis, phacelia and hillside daisies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
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
The men of the chevron and thistle, turning to him, saw the old King in the last minute of his glory.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
The 26-year-old, who attended St Joseph's College in Dumfries, was recently nominated for "rising star" recognition at the South of Scotland Thistle Awards.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
It helps around 35,000 to 40,000 households a year manage their energy costs, with assistance approval based on income, said Scott Thistle, communications director at MaineHousing.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026
Maine’s energy assistance program is designed to give each eligible household a “meaningful” dollar benefit amount, said Thistle.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 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
On the day Seabiscuit settled in at the Detroit Fair Grounds, Pollard was in North Randall, Ohio, sweltering through August at a middling racetrack called Thistle Down Park, which was wrapping up its summer meeting.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
"The only things that started growing were docks and thistles," said Pawsey, whose entire quinoa crop failed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
John Pickles, a "postcode gardener" with Friends of the Earth, said a patch of grass on the Orchard Park estate had been brought to life with flowers including ox-eye daisies, purple thistles and yellow poppies.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 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
Most thistles are weeds that are extremely prickly but have beautiful flowers.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2023
The remaining Fox Brothers men, no longer on anyone’s payroll, sit and watch, smoking and spitting wads of tobacco juice into tall patches of Queen Anne’s lace and thistles.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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