milkweed

noun

milk·​weed ˈmilk-ˌwēd 

: any of various plants that secrete latex

especially : any of a genus (Asclepias of the family Asclepiadaceae, the milkweed family) of erect chiefly perennial herbs with milky juice and umbellate flowers

Illustration of milkweed

Examples of milkweed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Attention Tennesseans: The Tennessee Department of Transportation is giving away 350,000 packets of milkweed seeds to help monarch butterflies thrive in the Volunteer State. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 June 2024

Last year, Curry noted that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protected the prostrate milkweed as endangered in response to a lawsuit filed by the center. —Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 17 June 2024

The monarch’s ancestors evolved the ability to withstand toxins in milkweed. —Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 June 2024

Plant native milkweed to welcome monarch butterflies . —Holly Burns, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1592, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing milkweed

• milkweed bug
• milkweed butterfly

Kids Definition

milkweed

noun

milk·​weed ˈmil-ˌkwēd 

: any of various herbs with milky juice and flowers usually in dense clusters

Medical Definition

milkweed

noun

milk·​weed ˈmilk-ˌwēd 

: any of various plants that secrete latex

especially : any plant of the genus Asclepias (family Asclepiadaceae, the milkweed family) including several whose dried roots were formerly used medicinally