yucca

noun

yuc·​ca ˈyə-kə 

1

: any of a genus (Yucca) of sometimes arborescent plants of the asparagus family that occur in warm regions chiefly of western North America and have long sword-shaped often stiff fibrous-margined leaves on a usually woody base and bear a large panicle of white blossoms

2

: cassava

Illustration of yucca

Examples of yucca in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Best-of-Show winner at Santa Fe was a reproduction of a weapon set carefully crafted with natural materials like knapped flint, turkey feathers, yucca cord and juniper branches commemorating the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 by Acoma Pueblo artist Dan Vallo. —Debra Utacia Krol, USA TODAY, 28 Nov. 2024

On the other hand, Joshua trees rely solely on the yucca moth for pollination. —Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2024

This deli has the BEST yucca cheese bread that can be used as a substitute for any of their bagel sandwiches. —R29 Team, refinery29.com, 2 Aug. 2024

Less good are Charly’s yucca and Canela cheese croquette (in which Gail struggles to taste the cheese) with tomato-mango sauce, and Laura’s Gouda Reserve potato croquette with peach mostarda (Carla complains about the thickness of the croquette’s roux, while Tom says the mostarda has no flavor). —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Spanish yuca, of unknown origin

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

yucca

noun

yuc·​ca ˈyək-ə 

: any of a genus of plants that are related to the agaves, grow in warm dry regions mostly of western North America, have long pointed often stiff leaves, and produce a tall stiff stalk with whitish flowers