rabbitbrush

noun

rab·​bit·​brush ˈra-bət-ˌbrəsh How to pronounce rabbitbrush (audio)
variants or less commonly rabbit brush or rabbit bush
: any of various shrubby composite plants (genera Chrysothamnus, Ericameria, and Lorandersonia) of western North America that have narrow leaves and clusters of small, typically yellow flowers, and that are tolerant of dry, poor, alkaline soils

Examples of rabbitbrush in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Residents in those states looking to help native pollinators can join their local Bumble Bee Atlas chapter or fill their gardens with native flowers such as thistles, milkweed, sunflowers and rabbitbrush to provide more food to these busy bees. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2024 Do not plant highly flammable shrubs and trees, not even dwarf varieties in an urban environment, especially arborvitae, bamboo, broom, cedar, cypress, juniper, pampas grass, rabbitbrush or sagebrush. Jeastman, oregonlive, 11 Sep. 2023 Dotted here and there are clumps of creosote and sagebrush, interrupted occasionally by splashes of yellow rabbitbrush. Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 28 Mar. 2023 Perched on a broad alluvial fan dotted with rabbitbrush and Joshua trees, this ragtag community of artists, misanthropes and urban refugees has little time for politicians. Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2022 Every traveler who passes through the park encounters a panorama ruled by geology, where rabbitbrush, raven and rock art are accents, where the layers of earth history overwhelm every other element of the scenery. The Salt Lake Tribune, 21 Oct. 2021 The route cuts through acres of rabbitbrush and past forests thick with pines. Pauly Denetclaw, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 July 2021 Healthy swaths of silvery rabbitbrush, mountain gromwell, penstemons, Rocky Mountain beeplant and Apache plume add color and sink stabilizing roots into the fragile soils. Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 21 Aug. 2020 The landscape was a blend of browns and greens with Joshua trees, rabbitbrush and Ponderosa pines lining the route, chipmunks, lizards and rabbits providing the only company. Rick Maese, courant.com, 15 July 2019

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rabbitbrush was circa 1890

Dictionary Entries Near rabbitbrush

Cite this Entry

“Rabbitbrush.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rabbitbrush. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.

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