goosefoot

noun

goose·​foot ˈgüs-ˌfu̇t How to pronounce goosefoot (audio)
plural goosefoots
: any of a genus (Chenopodium) or family (Chenopodiaceae, the goosefoot family) of glabrous herbs with fruit that is a utricle

Examples of goosefoot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The researchers found that the leftovers contain barley and emmer grains, as well as seeds from a white goosefoot plant. Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2024 There was a riot of nettles, ferns, ryegrass, scutch, goosefoot, wild oat, green amaranth, chicory, sorrel, cockspur, and the like, otherwise known as weeds by farmers throughout the world. . . . Joan Acocella, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2022 Boiled or sautéed, goosefoot greens still have a bitter bite. Sarah Laskow, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2022 For millennia, Indigenous people across what became North America cultivated high-yield, climate-specific varieties of plants, including sunchokes, lamb’s-quarter, gourds, knotweed, and goosefoot. Carolyn Kormann, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2022 Other such plants included goosefoot, wolfberry and sumac, which produce edible grains or berries. Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 May 2021 It’s a member of the goosefoot family, which sounds like a British TV drama but is actually a plant family that includes veg like Swiss chard, beets, and spinach. Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 25 Sep. 2020 Quinoa is a member of the goosefoot family and is related to spinach and beets. Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2018 These include erect knotweed (not to be confused with its invasive cousin, Asian knotweed), goosefoot, little barley, marsh elder, and maygrass. Annalee Newitz, Ars Technica, 26 Jan. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'goosefoot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of goosefoot was in 1548

Dictionary Entries Near goosefoot

Cite this Entry

“Goosefoot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/goosefoot. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

goosefoot

noun
goose·​foot -ˌfu̇t How to pronounce goosefoot (audio)
plural goosefoots
: any of numerous mostly weedy smooth herbs with branched clusters of small greenish or whitish flowers without petals

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