: any of various vigorous weedy plants especially of the goosefoot or amaranth families
Examples of pigweed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The list of allergens includes – but is not limited to — latex, gold, pollen (ragweed, cockleweed and pigweed are especially bad), penicillin, insect venom, peanuts, papayas, jellyfish stings, perfume, eggs, the feces of house mites, pecans, salmon, beef and nickel.
—
Carl Zimmer, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2015
Ultimately, Roundup was no match for the pigweed’s evolutionary vitality.
—New York Times, 11 Aug. 2021
Then, once applications of Roundup annihilated all the weeds in a field except the resistant Palmer amaranth, the pigweed could spread without competition.
—New York Times, 11 Aug. 2021
Peppers and Pigweed Leafminers preferred both pigweed (also called amaranthus) and ragweed to pepper plants in a study at the Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Tifton, Georgia.
—The Editors, Good Housekeeping, 24 Apr. 2020
Some farmers who plant dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton say dicamba's use during the height of the growing season is their only defense against pigweed, an invasive plant that has mutated and has become resistant to glyphosate herbicides.
—Stephen Steed, Arkansas Online, 20 Dec. 2019
The Palmer amaranth, a type of pigweed that was originally native to the deserts of Mexico and the southwestern U.S., can out-compete most commercial crops, is highly resistant to common herbicides and can be toxic to livestock.
—Gregory B. Hladky, courant.com, 12 Aug. 2014
Terrance Hurley Department of Applied Economics University of Minnesota
Adler’s characterization of ragweed and pigweed (Palmer amaranth) as monsters is plain silly.
—The Editors, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2011
The scientists are testing the machine on a range of species, including pigweed.
—Brooke Borel, Scientific American, 18 June 2018
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Carl Zimmer, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2015
Ultimately, Roundup was no match for the pigweed’s evolutionary vitality.
—New York Times, 11 Aug. 2021
Then, once applications of Roundup annihilated all the weeds in a field except the resistant Palmer amaranth, the pigweed could spread without competition.
—New York Times, 11 Aug. 2021
Peppers and Pigweed Leafminers preferred both pigweed (also called amaranthus) and ragweed to pepper plants in a study at the Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Tifton, Georgia.
—The Editors, Good Housekeeping, 24 Apr. 2020
Some farmers who plant dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton say dicamba's use during the height of the growing season is their only defense against pigweed, an invasive plant that has mutated and has become resistant to glyphosate herbicides.
—Stephen Steed, Arkansas Online, 20 Dec. 2019
The Palmer amaranth, a type of pigweed that was originally native to the deserts of Mexico and the southwestern U.S., can out-compete most commercial crops, is highly resistant to common herbicides and can be toxic to livestock.
—Gregory B. Hladky, courant.com, 12 Aug. 2014
Terrance Hurley Department of Applied Economics University of Minnesota
Adler’s characterization of ragweed and pigweed (Palmer amaranth) as monsters is plain silly.
—The Editors, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2011
The scientists are testing the machine on a range of species, including pigweed.
—Brooke Borel, Scientific American, 18 June 2018
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pigweed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1801, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near pigweed
Cite this Entry
“Pigweed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pigweed. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
pigweed
noun
pig·weed
-ˌwēd 
: any of various weedy plants especially of the two families to which the goosefoots and amaranths belong
Medical Definition
pigweed
noun
pig·weed
ˈpig-ˌwēd
: any of several plants of the genus Amaranthus (as A. retroflexus and A. hybridus) with pollen that acts as a hay fever allergen
More from Merriam-Webster on pigweed
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pigweed
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