weed

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
a(1)
: a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth
especially : one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants
(2)
: a weedy growth of plants
b
: an aquatic plant
especially : seaweed
c(1)
: tobacco products
(2)
2
a
: an obnoxious growth, thing, or person
b
: something like a weed in detrimental quality
especially : an animal unfit to breed from

weed

2 of 3

verb

weeded; weeding; weeds

intransitive verb

: to remove weeds or something harmful

transitive verb

1
a
: to clear of weeds
weed a garden
b(1)
: to free from something hurtful or offensive
(2)
: to remove the less desirable portions of
2
: to get rid of (something harmful or superfluous)
often used with out

weed

3 of 3

noun (2)

1
: garment
often used in plural
2
a
: dress worn as a sign of mourning (as by a widow)
usually used in plural
b
: a band of crape worn on a man's hat as a sign of mourning
usually used in plural

Examples of weed in a Sentence

Verb We need to weed the garden.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Mindful of the heat to come, several workers are already weeding, and Ms. Mason – her daily meditation and yoga done – is ready for a busy day. Melanie Stetson Freeman, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Jan. 2024 No insecticides are allowed; all weeding must be done by hand or with a natural insecticide such as neem oil or insecticidal soap, which garden managers have taught some neighbors how to make. Page Leggett, Charlotte Observer, 1 Feb. 2024 Projects range from gardening and weeding at Grape Day Park, donating men’s clothing for folks in need, cleaning up the Escondido Bike Trail and downtown areas, cheering for kids at a sports clinic, and signing thank-you posters for firefighters and police. Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2024 Besides watering and fertilizing, vertical plant walls require other maintenance, including pruning, dusting, weeding, and, sometimes, plant replacement. Deb Wiley, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Jan. 2024 Here's a look at the results: Should weed/marijuana be legal in Indiana? Chris Sims, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Jan. 2024 This weeding tool features a bamboo handle and a four-claw steel end to grab onto weeds. Renee Freemon Mulvihill, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Aug. 2023 Fortunately, weeding them out isn’t too difficult, and there are ways to attempt the task on both Android and iOS that don’t take a huge amount of time or effort. David Nield, Popular Science, 3 Jan. 2024 But then the storms hit, turning the dirt road outside her trailer into a muddy lagoon and sinking her hopes of weeding peppers and other crops beginning in September. Rebecca Plevin, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2023
Noun
Anything from huge streamers to topwater lures to glide baits and soft plastics that skim enticingly over the shallow weed tops is worth casting. Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 14 Mar. 2024 Our weed guru breaks it down April 15, 2021 Products containing delta-8 exploded in popularity after the 2018 passage of an agricultural bill that eased federal restrictions on hemp and created a legal loophole for the compound. Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Back in 2012, Michael, a budding Orange County legal weed impresario, and Mary, his housemate, were abducted and driven out to the desert. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Mar. 2024 On both coasts, candidates for licenses have faced far too much red tape; at the same time, the legalization of weed, which added taxes and jacked up the price per ounce, gave a shot in the arm to the illicit economy, which offers lower prices. The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 The neighborhood has tried to clean up some of the empty lots that are overgrown with weeds and filled with trash and wildlife. Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024 Wenger and others in the almond business have noticed some orchards abandoned in parts of the Central Valley over the last year, with rows of unkempt trees now filled with weeds. Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024 For the past decade, Kacey Musgraves has been country music’s most daring traditionalist — a small-town realist who’s also a campy country-disco queen and a folkie who once wrote a song about smoking weed with John Prine. Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2024 In a cover story interview with The Cut, the country star, 35, revealed that contrary to the image she's become synonymous with, she's stopped smoking weed. Ilana Kaplan, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English wēod weed, herb; akin to Old Saxon wiod weed

Noun (2)

Middle English wede, from Old English wǣd, gewǣde; akin to Old Norse vāth cloth, clothing and perhaps to Lithuanian austi to weave

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of weed was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near weed

Cite this Entry

“Weed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weed. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

weed

1 of 2 noun
: a plant that tends to grow thickly where it is not wanted and to choke out more desirable plants

weed

2 of 2 verb
1
: to remove weeds from
weed a garden
2
: to get rid of (something unwanted)
weed out the troublemakers
weeder noun

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