tumbleweed

American  

[tuhm-buhl-weed] / ˈtʌm bəlˌwid /

noun

1. any of various plants, as Amaranthus albus, A. graecizans, or the Russian thistle, Salsola kali, whose branching upper parts become detached from the roots and are driven about by the wind.

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tumbleweed British  

/ ˈtʌmbəlˌwiːd /

noun

1. any densely branched plant that breaks off near the ground on withering and is rolled about by the wind, esp one of several amaranths of the western US and Australia

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Etymology

Origin of tumbleweed

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; tumble + weed ¹

Example Sentences

In a spot that AT&T introduced in October, actor Luke Wilson pulls a newspaper out of a tumbleweed and reads, “T-Mobile most challenged for deceptive ads.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025

Now it has transformed itself into tumbleweed proper, sidling and bouncing wherever the wind chooses.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

"We came through the airport and it was like tumbleweed," McIntosh says.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2025

A lone tumbleweed blows through piles of coal at the Rosebud Mine outside Colstrip, a few miles from the power plant.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2024

If we lived a little farther south, a tumbleweed would tumble by.

From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass