wild rye

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noun

any grass of the genus Elymus, somewhat resembling rye.

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Origin of wild rye

First recorded in 1745–55

Words nearby wild rye

wild pumpkin, wild rice, wild rose, wild rosemary, wild rubber, wild rye, wild sarsaparilla, wild senna, wild silk, wild Spaniard, wild spinach

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wild rye in a sentence

Buffalo-clover, sunflowers and wild rye, buffalo-peas and buffalo-beans blossomed everywhere.
The Conquest|Eva Emery Dye
I can see in memory that there was a great deal of wild rye grass on the surrounding plains.
A Survivor's Recollections of the Whitman Massacre|Matilda Sager
For the winter they lay up a provision of acorns and wild rye: the latter grows here very abundantly.
A New Voyage Round the World, in the years 1823, 24, 25, and 26, Vol. 2|Otto von Kotzebue
There are also Several Species of the wild Rye to be met with in the praries.
The Journals of Lewis and Clark|Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

With the wild-rye are mixed bunch-grass, blue-joint, and quantities of the wild-pea vine.
Two Years in Oregon|Wallis Nash

British Dictionary definitions for wild rye

wild rye

noun

any of various perennial grasses of the N temperate genus Elymus, resembling cultivated rye in having paired bristly ears or spikes and flat leaves

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012