yucca

American

[yuhk-uh] / ˈyʌk ə /

noun

any plant belonging to the genus Yucca, of the agave family, native to the warmer regions of America, having pointed, usually rigid, sword-shaped leaves and clusters of white, waxy flowers: the state flower of New Mexico.

yucca British

/ ˈjʌkə /

noun

any of several plants of the genus Yucca, of tropical and subtropical America, having stiff lancelike leaves and spikes of white flowers: family Agaraceae See also Adam's-needle Spanish bayonet

"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

Etymology

Origin of yucca

1655–65; < New Latin, apparently < Spanish; perhaps originally identical with yuca yuca

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.

Hospitals have stopped all but emergency surgeries and farmers have struggled getting yucca and plantains to market.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

Classic examples include figs and fig wasps and yuccas and yucca moths.

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026

As the Save the Redwoods League notes, “You can’t find both yucca and coast redwoods in very many parks.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025

Yusely nodded at the yucca chips frying slowly in a pot of lukewarm oil.

From BBC • Oct. 25, 2024

Brian did fairly well fending them off until the yucca branch broke.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023