tumbleweed

[ tuhm-buhl-weed ]

noun
  1. any of various plants, as Amaranthus albus, A. graecizans, or the Russian thistle, Salsola kali, whose branching upper parts become detached from the roots and are driven about by the wind.

Origin of tumbleweed

1
An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; tumble + weed1

Words Nearby tumbleweed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tumbleweed in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tumbleweed

tumbleweed

/ (ˈtʌmbəlˌwiːd) /


noun
  1. any densely branched plant that breaks off near the ground on withering and is rolled about by the wind, esp one of several amaranths of the western US and Australia

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