watercress
Americannoun
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a cress, Nasturtium officinale, of the mustard family, usually growing in clear, running streams and having pungent leaves.
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the leaves, used for salads, soups, and as a garnish.
noun
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an Old World plant, Nasturtium officinale , of clear ponds and streams, having pungent leaves that are used in salads and as a garnish: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
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any of several similar or related plants
Etymology
Origin of watercress
1300–50; Middle English; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German waterkerse. See water, cress
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.
Or the gallant, pragmatic 8-year-old street hawker selling watercress in Victorian London: “All my money I earns I puts in a club and draws it out to buy clothes with.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
You can also add depth and variety to your soup by adding any salad greens, like arugula, spinach, kale, or watercress.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
It has since been named the UK's capital of watercress farming.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Alresford became the centre of the watercress industry in 1865, when the rail line to the Georgian town opened, enabling farmers to get their leaves to market in Covent Garden.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Baskets of sabzi—parsley and watercress and tarragon and basil and mint, stalks of green onion, fresh radishes carved into flowers—sat on each table.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
