brier
1or bri·ar
a prickly plant or shrub, especially the sweetbrier or a greenbrier.
a tangled mass of prickly plants.
a thorny stem or twig.
Origin of brier
1Other words from brier
- bri·er·y, adjective
Other definitions for brier (2 of 3)
or bri·ar
the white heath, Erica arborea, of France and Corsica, the woody root of which is used for making tobacco pipes.
a pipe made of brierroot.
Origin of brier
2Other definitions for brier (3 of 3)
or bri·ar
(chiefly in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee) a term used to refer to a rustic, unsophisticated person, especially one from Appalachia.
Origin of brier
3usage note For brier
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use brier in a sentence
With arrows and with bows they shall go in thither: for briers and thorns shall be in all the land.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousUpon the land of my people shall thorns and briers come up: how much more upon all the houses of joy, of the city that rejoiced?
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousEudora was racing now through the briers, and weeds, and palmetto stumps, and dragging Mandy Ann with her.
The Cromptons | Mary J. HolmesThe advance was through nettles and briers, up steep muddy banks and over fallen timber.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh PendexterBut how many briers, how many thorns, how many cruel scratches and wounds before arriving at the end!
The Nabob | Alphonse Daudet
British Dictionary definitions for brier (1 of 2)
briar
/ (ˈbraɪə) /
any of various thorny shrubs or other plants, such as the sweetbrier and greenbrier
Origin of brier
1Derived forms of brier
- briery or briary, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for brier (2 of 2)
/ (ˈbraɪə) /
a variant spelling of briar 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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