Definition of hemp
1a
: a tall widely cultivated Asian herb (Cannabis sativa of the family Cannabaceae, the hemp family) that is cultivated for its tough bast fiber and edible seeds and oil and that is often separated into a tall loosely branched species (C. sativa) and a low-growing densely branched species (C. indica)
Note: Cultivated hemp is often distinguished from cannabis by possessing very low levels of the psychoactive substance THC.
b
: the fiber of hemp
… hemp can produce superb paper and construction materials lighter and stronger than lumber.— Ted Williams
—often used before another noun hemp ropea hemp shirt
2
: a fiber (such as jute) from a plant other than the true hemp
also
: a plant yielding such fiber
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for hemp
The first known use of hemp was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century