Illustration of milkweed
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
Examples of milkweed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The annual online plant sale is open and features milkweeds and native plants for pickup in May.
—
Elaine Rewolinski, jsonline.com, 27 Feb. 2026
Perennials That Require Cold Stratification Native plant seeds like milkweed, coneflower, columbine, and a variety of other wildflowers require a period of cold stratification, whether indoors or out, in order to break their dormancy, says Phillips.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 26 Feb. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for milkweed
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Elaine Rewolinski, jsonline.com, 27 Feb. 2026
Perennials That Require Cold Stratification Native plant seeds like milkweed, coneflower, columbine, and a variety of other wildflowers require a period of cold stratification, whether indoors or out, in order to break their dormancy, says Phillips.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 26 Feb. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for milkweed
Cite this Entry
“Milkweed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/milkweed. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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