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

One of the reasons to grow this plant is its attractiveness to Gulf fritillary butterflies, whose exclusive relationship with it parallels that of monarchs with milkweed. —Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 6 Feb. 2026

There are plugs of grasses and gallon pots of white sage, purple sage, California buckwheat, long-stem buckwheat, deerweed, narrow leaf milkweed and coyote bush. —Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026

The study found the answer lies, at least in part, in monarchs’ relationship to their preferred food, milkweed. —Drew Kann, AJC.com, 12 Jan. 2026

And there’s milkweed for the butterflies. —Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Dec. 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