weed

¹

[ weed ]

noun

1. a valueless plant growing wild, especially one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.
2. any undesirable or troublesome plant, especially one that grows profusely where it is not wanted:

   The vacant lot was covered with weeds.

3. Informal. a cigarette or cigar.
4. Slang. a marijuana cigarette.
5. a thin, ungainly person or animal.
6. a wretched or useless animal, especially a horse unfit for racing or breeding purposes.
7. the weed,
   1. Informal. tobacco.
   2. Slang. marijuana.

verb (used with object)

1. to free from weeds or troublesome plants; root out weeds from:

   to weed a garden.

2. to root out or remove (a weed or weeds), as from a garden (often followed by out ):

   to weed out crab grass from a lawn.

3. to remove as being undesirable, inefficient, or superfluous (often followed by out ):

   to weed out inexperienced players.

4. to rid (something) of undesirable or superfluous elements.

verb (used without object)

1. to remove weeds or the like.

weed

²

[ weed ]

noun

1. weeds, mourning garments:

   widow's weeds.

2. a mourning band of black crepe or cloth, as worn on a man's hat or coat sleeve.
3. Often weeds. Archaic.
   1. a garment:

      clad in rustic weeds.

   2. clothing.

Weed

³

[ weed ]

noun

1. Thur·low [thur, -loh], 1797–1882, U.S. journalist and politician.

weed

¹

/ wiːd /

noun

1. rare.
   a black crepe band worn to indicate mourning See also weeds

weed

²

/ wiːd /

noun

1. any plant that grows wild and profusely, esp one that grows among cultivated plants, depriving them of space, food, etc
2. slang.
   1. tobacco
   2. marijuana
3. informal.
   a thin or unprepossessing person
4. an inferior horse, esp one showing signs of weakness of constitution

verb

1. to remove (useless or troublesome plants) from (a garden, etc)

Derived Forms

• ˈweedless, adjective
• ˈweeder, noun
• ˈweedˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• weedless adjective
• weedlike adjective
• un·weeded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of weed¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English wed(e), weid, Old English wēod; cognate with Old Saxon wiod “weed,” Middle Dutch wiet “fern”

Origin of weed²

First recorded before 900; Middle English wed(e), Old English (ge)wǣde, wǣde “garment, clothing”; cognate with Old Saxon wād, gewādi, Old High German wāt, gewāti; wadmal

Word History and Origins

Origin of weed¹

Old English wǣd, wēd; related to Old Saxon wād, Old High German wāt, Old Norse vāth

Origin of weed²

Old English weod; related to Old Saxon wiod, Old High German wiota fern

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. (deep) in / into the weeds, Slang. Also in deep weeds.
   1. (of a restaurant worker) overwhelmed and falling behind in serving customers:

      Our waitress was so deep in the weeds that we waited 40 minutes for our burgers.

   2. in trouble; overwhelmed by problems:

      He knows our marriage is in deep weeds.

   3. involved in the details:

      I’m in the weeds of planning my wedding.

Example Sentences

They told the BBC they are receiving a poor service as the company fails to perform basic maintenance and administrative duties like weeding and grass cutting and have questioned charges such as "terrorism insurance."

From BBC

They start to secrete renin and substances that trigger other changes: New nerves grow like weeds; immature smooth muscle cells build up; scars form around the tiny blood vessels, called arterioles; and inflammatory cells infiltrate.

From Science Daily

A few years back, a group of weed scientists showed that soil-applied herbicides are less effective against agricultural weeds in the context of our changing climate.

From Science Daily

“We were fully in the weeds, which was wonderful and it was really important,” he says of the process.

From Los Angeles Times

“We spent the night, we did drugs together and something intimate happened,” Paiz said, noting that while he stuck to weed, Payne was allegedly doing cocaine.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• drag
• haul
• pick
• pluck
• remove
• rip
• stretch
• take out
• tear
• tow
• trail
• tug
• yank