tumbleweed

noun

tum·​ble·​weed ˈtəm-bəl-ˌwēd How to pronounce tumbleweed (audio)
: a plant (such as Russian thistle or any of several amaranths) that breaks away from its roots in the autumn and is driven about by the wind as a light rolling mass

Examples of tumbleweed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The Sonoran Desert, which covers much of the southwestern United States, is a vast expanse of arid earth where cartoonish entities—roadrunners, tumbleweeds, telephone-pole-tall succulents—make occasional appearances. Alice Gregory, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024 As players slid for home in clouds of dust and fielded balls right before a wall of tumbleweeds, the Los Angeles Dodgers are competing in the World Series with Shohei Ohtani as their marquee star. Emilie Ikeda, NBC News, 29 Oct. 2024 In Pahrump − just outside of Death Valley National Park − tumbleweeds could be seen sweeping roads in every direction. Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2024 The jumbled scrap metal evokes tumbleweeds, but Wool achieves an impressive diversity of forms. Chris Murtha, ARTnews.com, 3 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for tumbleweed 

Word History

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tumbleweed was in 1858

Dictionary Entries Near tumbleweed

Cite this Entry

“Tumbleweed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tumbleweed. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

tumbleweed

noun
tum·​ble·​weed ˈtəm-bəl-ˌwēd How to pronounce tumbleweed (audio)
: a plant that breaks away from its roots in autumn and is blown about by the wind

More from Merriam-Webster on tumbleweed

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