noun
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any coarse weed of the genus Xanthium, having spiny burs: family Asteraceae (composites)
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the bur of any of these plants
Etymology
Origin of cocklebur
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My stomach felt as if I had swallowed a handful of cockleburs and I was sicker than I had ever been in my life.
From Literature
At this rate, at the end of seven days I’d have an empty tablet and a dog full of cockleburs.
From Literature
Carolina parakeets may have been attracted to farms by the cockleburs growing there as weeds.
From New York Times
The Carolina parakeet had a liking for eating cockleburs, a coarse flowering plant that contains a powerful toxin called carboxytractyloside.
From BBC
With the help of an observant hunter, several friends and an airplane overhead, Pfliger was fortunate enough to find her cocklebur laden keeshond.
From Washington Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
