broom·corn

[broom-kawrn, broom-]
noun
any of several varieties of sorghum having a long, stiff-branched panicle used in the manufacture of brooms.

Origin:
1775–85, Americanism; broom + corn1

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World English Dictionary
broomcorn (ˈbruːmˌkɔːn, ˈbrʊm-) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
a variety of sorghum, Sorghum vulgare technicum, the long stiff flower stalks of which have been used for making brooms

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Broomcorn is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

broomcorn

a variety of upright grass of the species Sorghum vulgare, or S. bicolor variety technicum, belonging to the family Gramineae (sometimes Poaceae) and cultivated for their stiff stems. The seeds of broomcorn are borne on the ends of long straight branches. When harvested and dried, these stiff bristles are processed and bound to form broom heads and brushes. S. vulgare is grown in the Great Plains of North America. Broomcorn is also the common name of Panicum miliaceum, a type of millet (q.v.).

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
Corn and broomcorn need rain badly, although not much damaged by the hot winds of the past week.
The team concluded the noodles were made from two kinds of millet-broomcorn millet and foxtail millet.
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