wood sorrel

noun

: any of a genus (Oxalis of the family Oxalidaceae, the wood-sorrel family) of herbs with acid sap, compound leaves, and regular flowers having five usually white, purple, or yellow petals

especially : either of two stemless herbs (O. montana of North America and O. acetosella of Eurasia) with trifoliolate leaves

Examples of wood sorrel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The greens typically called weeds that get ripped out of backyards make a delicious salad and can be a bold garnish — think of purslane, or wood sorrel. —Sean Sherman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Nov. 2023

About 4 miles from the Chicago Rockford International Airport, violet wood sorrel has started to grow. —Nara Schoenberg, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2023

The selection of wood sorrel was mostly arbitrary. —Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2022

This is a type of oxalis called broadleaf wood sorrel or fishtail oxalis. —Dan Gill, NOLA.com, 11 Nov. 2020

There are several native plants that might work in this space, the most obvious being wood sorrel (oxalis). —oregonlive, 28 Jan. 2023

The hotel is situated outside Grasmere village in grounds made up of gardens and forest home to a herd of roe deer, red squirrels and native plant species including foxgloves and wood sorrel. —Lauren Jade Hill, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2022

This year my diet has included chickweed, dead nettle, bittercress, dock, garlic pennycress, wild onion, brassica, wood sorrel, cleavers, dandelions, lamb’s quarters, day lily shoots, sochan, purslane and poke (amply boiled to remove toxins). —Gabriel Popkin, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022

Why does wood sorrel appear so prominently in the title and the story? —Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wood sorrel

• aboral
• amoral
• auroral
• balmoral
• binaural
• clitoral
• immoral
• phosphoryl
• aural
• chloral
• choral
• coral

Kids Definition

wood sorrel

noun

: any of a genus of herbs with acid sap, leaves having leaflets, and flowers with five petals

especially : a stemless herb having leaves with three leaflets that is sometimes considered to be the original shamrock