bramble

American  

[bram-buhl] / ˈbræm bəl /

noun

1. any prickly shrub belonging to the genus Rubus, of the rose family.

2. British. the common blackberry.

3. any rough, prickly shrub, as the dog rose.

---

verb (used without object)

brambled, brambling

1. British. to look for and gather wild blackberries; pick blackberries from the vine.

bramble British  

/ ˈbræmbəl /

noun

1. any of various prickly herbaceous plants or shrubs of the rosaceous genus Rubus , esp the blackberry See also stone bramble

2. 1. a blackberry

   2. ( as modifier )

      bramble jelly

3. any of several similar and related shrubs

---

verb

1. to gather blackberries

Other Word Forms

• brambly adjective

Etymology

Origin of bramble

before 1000; Middle English; Old English bræmbel, variant of brǣmel, equivalent to brǣm- (cognate with Dutch braam broom ) + -el noun suffix

Explanation

A bramble is a bush or plant that's covered in thorns. You'll want to wear long pants if you're going to trek through the brambles looking for your lost cat. Those rough, prickly shrubs that grow along the fence and in which you're always losing your Frisbee? You can call them brambles. This word is most common in Britain, where it sometimes refers specifically to blackberry bushes. In fact, some Britons even call blackberries themselves "brambleberries." The Old English root is bræmbel.

Example Sentences

This year, while contemplating navigating the bramble of union strike rules about what’s promotable during Hollywood’s dual writer-actor stoppages, the longtime Humanitas Prizes for screenwriters encountered an additional complication.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2023

Just off the road, a tall bramble of bushes and weeds grew so thick and thorny, even trained cadaver-sniffing dogs could barely penetrate it.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 14, 2023

This lively red from the Beaujolais cru appellation of Morgon is rich with cherry and bramble flavors.

From Washington Post • Jan. 12, 2023

The Favela chair, made in the early 1990s, was more hopeful, a frenzied-looking bramble of small slats of wood nailed together and inspired by the ad hoc structures of Brazil’s favelas, or shantytowns.

From New York Times • Dec. 11, 2022

The blue tit that had been swinging on a bramble, singing “Heigh ho, go-and-get-another-bit-of-moss,” stopped his acrobatics and flew into the wood.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams