spiderwort

noun

spi·​der·​wort ˈspī-dər-ˌwərt How to pronounce spiderwort (audio)
-ˌwȯrt
plural spiderworts
: any of a genus (Tradescantia of the family Commelinaceae, the spiderwort family) of American monocotyledonous, usually trailing or creeping plants with narrow leaves and often short-lived white, rose, blue, or violet flowers and that includes some (such as the inch plant) grown as houseplants especially for their ornamental usually striped foliage : tradescantia

Illustration of spiderwort

Illustration of spiderwort

Examples of spiderwort in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Myu-myu Also known as spiderwort, this perennial has pretty grassy foliage and bright purple flowers. Terri Robertson, Country Living, 18 Jan. 2023 The plantings include hostas, astilbe, daylilies, roses, lamium, Japanese anemones, spiderwort, coral-bells, zinnia, clematis, dianthus and different kinds of sedum. Joanne Kempinger Demski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9 July 2021 This is hairy flower spiderwort – Tradescantia hirsutiflora. Janet Carson, Arkansas Online, 18 Apr. 2021 Calla lilies and spiderwort are best divided in the spring, just as new growth begins. oregonlive, 7 Nov. 2020 There are a lot of ferns, mayapples, monks hood, goats beard, gooseneck loosestrife, iris of all kinds, daylilies, tiger lilies, spiderwort, lungwort and lamb's ear. Joanne Kempinger Demski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2020 Bulb-type plants: Achimenes, African iris, bulbine, caladium, canna, crinum, crocosmia, day lily, eucharis lily, gladiolus, gloriosa lily, peacock ginger, society garlic, spiderwort, rain lily and walking iris. Tom MacCubbin, OrlandoSentinel.com, 30 June 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spiderwort.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1629, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spiderwort was in 1629

Dictionary Entries Near spiderwort

Cite this Entry

“Spiderwort.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spiderwort. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on spiderwort

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!