Word
weeds
US/ˈwidz/
UK/wˈiːdz/
Definition
n. an old word for clothes, especially the black clothes someone wears when a relative dies.
n. an archaic term for garments or apparel; most commonly surviving in the phrase 'widow's weeds' to describe mourning attire.
Examples
“I spent the whole morning pulling weeds out of the garden.”
“If you do not remove the weeds early in the season, they will eventually choke the vegetables.”
“The abandoned lot was quickly overtaken by tall weeds and invasive vines, obscuring the foundation of the original building.”
Examples
simple
“I spent the whole morning pulling weeds out of the garden.”
contextual
“If you do not remove the weeds early in the season, they will eventually choke the vegetables.”
complex
“The abandoned lot was quickly overtaken by tall weeds and invasive vines, obscuring the foundation of the original building.”
Usage
Almost exclusively used in the plural form.
Teaching tip
This sense is rare in modern English; students will likely only encounter it in 19th-century literature or historical dramas.
Etymology
Inflected form of weed.
From Old English wǣd, wǣde, from Proto-Germanic *wēdiz (“piece of cloth, garment”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Idioms
go off into the weeds — To go hopelessly astray.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/weeds