milkweed

noun

milk·​weed ˈmilk-ˌwēd 

: any of various plants that secrete latex

especially : any of a genus (Asclepias of the family Apocynaceae, the dogbane family) of erect chiefly perennial herbs with milky juice and umbellate flowers

Illustration of milkweed

Examples of milkweed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Native milkweed and Joe Pye weed are beneficial plants; their names are just misnomer. —Dee Dee Kerscher, Oc Register, 20 June 2025

Since 2023, the project’s volunteers have spent hundreds of hours planting milkweed and native pollinating plants and taken other steps to help Los Angeles State Historic Park near Chinatown be a place where monarchs can reproduce and thrive. —Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025

The hope is to plant milkweed and other pollinator plants to bring in more butterflies. —Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 May 2025

Once, Lake County’s prairies were thick with milkweed. —Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1592, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing milkweed

• milkweed bug
• milkweed butterfly

Rhymes for milkweed

• accede
• agreed
• airspeed
• alkyd
• bindweed
• chickweed
• concede
• decreed
• duckweed
• exceed
• flaxseed
• impede

Kids Definition

milkweed

noun

milk·​weed ˈmil-ˌkwēd 

: any of various herbs with milky juice and flowers usually in dense clusters

Medical Definition

milkweed

noun

milk·​weed ˈmilk-ˌwēd 

: any of various plants that secrete latex

especially : any plant of the genus Asclepias (family Asclepiadaceae, the milkweed family) including several whose dried roots were formerly used medicinally