canebrake

noun

cane·​brake ˈkān-ˌbrāk How to pronounce canebrake (audio)
: a thicket of cane

Examples of canebrake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This is rural Richland Parish, once a floodplain tangled with meandering bayous and wild canebrake where black bears still wander and a quarter of the 20,000 residents live below the poverty line. Delaney Nolan, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2025 Extinguishing their patrol lights and flipping on their headlamps, the Slaughterhouse men patrolled the canals with shotguns cocked, leaping from the boat to grab their dead and pursue their wounded through the canebrake. Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025 Of the 46 species of snakes known in Georgia, only six are venomous: copperhead, cottonmouth, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, timber/canebrake rattlesnake, pigmy rattlesnake and Eastern coral snake. Nancy Clanton, ajc, 20 Apr. 2023 According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, the timber rattlesnake — also called the American viper, black rattlesnake, eastern rattlesnake, timber rattler and canebrake — is a large pit viper with a wide distribution across the eastern half of the U.S. Muri Assuncao New York Daily News (tns), al, 14 Aug. 2022 The forest hid behind pioneer vegetation, the same canebrakes and cecropia trees over and over. Nell Zink, Harper's magazine, 28 Oct. 2019 Those that are venomous include the diamondback rattlesnake, canebrake rattlesnake, pigmy rattlesnake, the copperhead, and cottonmouth or water moccasin. Wayne K. Roustan, sun-sentinel.com, 10 July 2019 The canebrake wrens use their elaborate duets to defend territory and attract mates. Tarpley Hitt, miamiherald, 29 Mar. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1770, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of canebrake was in 1770

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Cite this Entry

“Canebrake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canebrake. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

canebrake

noun
cane·​brake ˈkān-ˌbrāk How to pronounce canebrake (audio)
: a thicket of cane

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