jack-in-the-pulpit

noun

jack-in-the-pul·​pit ˌjak-ən-t͟hə-ˈpu̇l-ˌpit 

-pət,

 also  -ˈpəl-

plural jack-in-the-pulpits also jacks-in-the-pulpit

: a North American spring-flowering woodland herb (Arisaema triphyllum synonym A. atrorubens) of the arum family having an upright club-shaped spadix arched over by a green and purple spathe

Illustration of jack-in-the-pulpit

Examples of jack-in-the-pulpit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In his obituary and appreciation of the artist, published a day after her death on March 6, 1986, Milwaukee Journal art critic James Auer reported that one of O'Keeffe's local art teachers taught her to look closely at a jack-in-the-pulpit. —Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 29 May 2024

One example slated for the garden is the jack-in-the-pulpit, a plant with green and maroon striped flowers and red berries. —Alyson Krueger, New York Times, 1 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

jack-in-the-pulpit

noun

jack-in-the-pul·​pit

ˌjak-ən-t͟hə-ˈpu̇l-ˌpit

plural jack-in-the-pulpits also jacks-in-the-pulpit

: a North American spring-flowering herb that grows in moist shady places and bears an upright club-shaped flower cluster over which arches a green and purple bract like a hood