brier

noun

bri·​er

less common spelling of briar

1
: a plant (such as a rose, blackberry, or greenbrier) having a usually woody and thorny or prickly stem
a thicket of briars
… head up an almost invisible trail along the left bank, through young pines and briars.—Robert F. Jones
see also briar patch
2
a
: a mass of briars
… threading his way with perfect skill between tree-trunks, jumping over bush and briar and the smaller streams …—C. S. Lewis
… volunteers methodically searching through the briar and trees …—Roy Bragg
b
: a branch or twig of a briar
With my pair of brush cutters that I always carried I cut away enough of the long briars to provide an opening for me to sit comfortably in.—Jean Solbert

Examples of brier 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.
Straight uphill, twisted chest-high grass mixed with briers and field burrs. — Eric Church, Field & Stream, 5 June 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Brier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brier. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Kids Definition

brier

variant of briar

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