cress

American  

[kres] / krɛs /

noun

1. any of various plants of the mustard family, especially the watercress, having pungent-tasting leaves often used for salad and as a garnish.

2. any of various similar plants.

---

cress British  

/ krɛs /

noun

1. any of various plants of the genera Lepidium , Cardamine , Arabis , etc, having pungent-tasting leaves often used in salads and as a garnish: family Brassicaceae (crucifers) See also watercress garden cress

---

Other Word Forms

• cressy adjective

Etymology

Origin of cress

before 900; Middle English cresse, Old English cress ( a ), cresse; cognate with Dutch kers, German Kresse

Example Sentences

Mizuna isn’t always readily available, and it isn’t to everyone’s taste, but arugula, baby beet greens or baby spinach are fine substitutes for milder flavor; cress, frisée or a spicy salad mix also works well.

From Seattle Times

Listen: the Norwegians have a load of cress in a silo.

From The Guardian

Whether these will develop into amazing giant sequoias, or suffer the same fate as my attempts to grow cress, is yet to be seen.

From Nature

Children assemble the model scene - ranging from a windmill to a volcano - from pop-out boards, then plant seeds to grow cress, pea, kale, rocket, lettuce or watercress in the little "garden" container.

From BBC

If you can’t find any edible flowers, you can use upland cress instead.

From Los Angeles Times