hayseed

noun

hay·​seed ˈhā-ˌsēd How to pronounce hayseed (audio)
plural hayseed or hayseeds
1
a
: seed shattered from hay
b
: clinging bits of straw or chaff from hay
2
plural hayseeds : bumpkin, yokel

Examples of hayseed in a Sentence

though educated and sophisticated, the country singer always put on the facade of an amiable hayseed when in public
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Mantle was the voluble hayseed from Oklahoma who could hit anything but was corrupted by the big city, and wound up undone by alcohol and knee injuries. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 June 2024 Today, the variety shows’ wise-clown hayseeds (overalls, prosthetic teeth, silly hats, no shoes) are the ones who get all the good lines, whose material is distinctive in its political sensibility and cultural hobbyhorses. Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024 Lilly’s bequest was big enough to impress the hayseeds at the feed store, but, as the magazine’s editor, Wiman was making only sixty thousand dollars a year. Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023 Grey Henson and Ashley D. Kelley as the gleeful Storytellers, Kevin Cahoon as a hayseed philosopher and Caroline Innerbichler as the requisite ingenue all joyfully indulge the cheeky, harmlessly off-color vibe. Peter Marks, Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2023 Who is this gosh-darn hayseed? Kyle Smith, National Review, 30 Nov. 2020 Sort of like how Axl Rose is some hayseed with chops like Chopin. Mike Postalakis, SPIN, 3 Aug. 2022 To share the workload, and also to teach him how to do everything, Jeremy brings on an uneducated 21-year-old blond hayseed named Kaleb who sports a series of increasingly dire haircuts as the series goes on. Kyle Smith, National Review, 8 Aug. 2021 Callum Scott Howells is another standout as Colin, a Welsh hayseed who’s wonderstruck by city life. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of hayseed was in 1577

Dictionary Entries Near hayseed

Cite this Entry

“Hayseed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hayseed. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on hayseed

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!