: any of a genus (Taraxacum) of yellow-flowered composite herbs with milky sap
especially: one (T. officinale) sometimes grown as a potherb and nearly cosmopolitan as a weed
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Examples of dandelion in a Sentence
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These are among the hardest weeds to manage and include plants like plantain, dandelion, and nutsedge.—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2025 Pull larger crabgrass after a rain, and use a dandelion puller to loosen it up from below.—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Aug. 2025 Classic aromas of lime, fusel, pear and dandelion.—Tom Hyland, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025 Muhammad reflects on how the idea of the dandelion has taken on a new meaning since Russell City’s demise.—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dandelion
Word History
Etymology
Middle English dendelyoun, from Anglo-French dent de lion, literally, lion's tooth
: any of a genus of yellow-flowered weedy plants related to the daisies
especially: one with long deeply toothed stemless leaves sometimes grown as a potherb
Etymology
from early French dent de lion "dandelion," literally, "tooth of the lion"; dent derived from Latin dens "tooth" — related to dental
Word Origin
Sometimes plants are named for their resemblance, real or imagined, to animal shapes. The dandelion might not be a plant we would be quick to connect with a lion's teeth. And yet, in early French this common plant with its yellow flowers was called dent de lion, meaning literally "tooth of the lion." The dandelion leaves have deep notches along the edges. These make the leaves appear to have a row of sharp triangular teeth. In time the French name came to be spelled and pronounced as one word when it came into English, giving us dandelion today.
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