a valueless plant growing wild, especially one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.
any undesirable or troublesome plant, especially one that grows profusely where it is not wanted.
The vacant lot was covered with weeds.
Informal. a cigarette or cigar.
Slang. a marijuana cigarette.
a thin, ungainly person or animal.
a wretched or useless animal, especially a horse unfit for racing or breeding purposes.
the weed,
to free from weeds or troublesome plants; root out weeds from.
to weed a garden.
to root out or remove (a weed or weeds), as from a garden (often followed byout ).
to weed out crab grass from a lawn.
to remove as being undesirable, inefficient, or superfluous (often followed byout ).
to weed out inexperienced players.
to rid (something) of undesirable or superfluous elements.
weeds, mourning garments.
widow's weeds.
a mourning band of black crepe or cloth, as worn on a man's hat or coat sleeve.
Archaic. Often weeds
a garment.
clad in rustic weeds.
clothing.
any plant that grows wild and profusely, esp one that grows among cultivated plants, depriving them of space, food, etc
slang
tobacco
marijuana
informal a thin or unprepossessing person
an inferior horse, esp one showing signs of weakness of constitution
First recorded before 900; Middle English wed(e), weid, Old English wēod; cognate with Old Saxon wiod “weed,” Middle Dutch wiet “fern”
First recorded before 900; Middle English wed(e), Old English (ge)wǣde, wǣde “garment, clothing”; cognate with Old Saxon wād, gewādi, Old High German wāt, gewāti; cf. wadmal
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As in the Progressive Era, Americans want solutions to weed out government corruption.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
The county’s legal team fought to keep the deal on track, arguing that enhanced fraud prevention would be enough to weed out false claims.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Social media companies bear the sole responsibility for checking that Australia-based users are 16 or older, and must prove they have taken "reasonable steps" to weed out young teenagers.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
She suggested that the Home Office could raise the bar of evidence required to help weed out fake claims.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
She used to say “A house will keep, whether you weed it or not, but that-air yard will git away from you in the bat of a eye.”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Or as Laurie Metcalf’s Weed makes clear in her hilarious monologue before the Central Park gig.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Weed said that management “showed off the potential tailwinds from the shiny new acquisitions.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 18, 2026
The previous highest price at auction for a work by a female artist is Georgia O'Keeffe's Jimson Weed / White Flower No.1, which was sold at Sotheby's in 2014 for $44m.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2025
Universal and Mattel have tapped Akiva Goldsman — an Oscar-winning screenwriter known for “A Beautiful Mind” and “Cinderella Man” — to produce the picture under his banner, Weed Road.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
She’d find out whatever she could from this Harrison Weed, and then she’d make her way down south to Montez.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
Bill Frauenhofer, the veteran semiconductor industry investment banker who serves as the administration’s chips czar, is even more in the weeds of Intel’s business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
One of the fields used to produce rice for sushi has not been flooded and the weeds are the biggest beneficiaries.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
Its rangers and volunteers keep the outline defined by rechalking the figure every decade or so to protect it from weeds and erosion.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
With the help of the flock, Lily eventually weeds out George’s murderer among the colorful townspeople, but not before “The Sheep Detectives” lands a couple of remarkable gut punches.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
We kept to the edge to walk on the soft weeds that grew next to the hedges.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
He weeded out clerical competition and consolidated his rule over a nation of 90 million people as it grew into a regional military and political powerhouse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The long biotech winter cleaned up the sector: Many biotech companies that went public too early during the COVID-inspired biotech frenzy got weeded out by the sector’s subsequent weakness, Renna says.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2025
During the summer, Massa mostly worked alone keeping the newly planted sections of the corridor weeded and watered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2025
It seems as though all of these people ultimately had second thoughts and decided against taking part, or were weeded out by voir dire.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2024
I felt achy as I weeded my fields and carried water to the garden and fed the chickens, and mucked out Plug’s stall.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
The work being done by volunteers includes digging up and weeding out an island in the brook to help the water flow freely again.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
The eight-week programme is being held at the group's field in Sion and involves planting hedges, weeding, watering and studying the concept of sustainability.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
Parkanyi vets every submission, weeding out couples who appear rapacious for money, or those who demand a specific type of foreigner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025
Social media platforms will be held responsible for weeding out underage accounts.
From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025
I seent what’s happened to Ma, how she keep on chopping or digging or weeding without doing no thinking.
From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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.
