cress

[ kres ]

noun
  1. any of various plants of the mustard family, especially the watercress, having pungent-tasting leaves often used for salad and as a garnish.

  2. any of various similar plants.

Origin of cress

1
before 900; Middle English cresse,Old English cress(a), cresse; cognate with Dutch kers,German Kresse

Other words from cress

  • cressy, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cress in a sentence

  • See, dear Mrs Flanagan, I40 bought these water-cresses for you.

    Little Pollie | Gertrude P. Dyer
  • "And now, please, I should like a bunch of water-cresses for Mrs. Flanagan," said the child.

    Little Pollie | Gertrude P. Dyer
  • The Glashan washed the wound in his foot and gave him a portion of the broiled eel with cresses and water.

  • This meal consisted of tea without either milk or sugar, dry toast, and water-cresses.

    Byron | Richard Edgcumbe
  • But the farm had fallen on evil days at the hands of Paddy Magragh, and the reservoir was choked with cresses and duckweed.

    Lives of the Fur Folk | M. D. Haviland

British Dictionary definitions for cress

cress

/ (krɛs) /


noun
  1. any of various plants of the genera Lepidium, Cardamine, Arabis, etc, having pungent-tasting leaves often used in salads and as a garnish: family Brassicaceae (crucifers): See also watercress, garden cress

Origin of cress

1
Old English cressa; related to Old High German cresso cress, kresan to crawl

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