winterberry

noun

win·ter·ber·ry | \ˈwin-tər-ˌber-ē

\

Definition of winterberry

1 : an eastern North American shrub (Ilex verticillata) of the holly family with axillary flowers, usually bright red berries, and deciduous leaves that turn black in the fall

— called also black alder

2 : any of several congeneric shrubs or small trees (such as Ilex laevigata of the eastern U.S.)

Examples of winterberry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus) are good shrubs for soil that is frequently wet, Taylor said. — Beth Botts, chicagotribune.com, "'Plants aren’t sponges': Soil that's too wet, too long can spoil your garden," 6 June 2018 Robins and catbirds will compete for plump, vermilion winterberries. — Bart Ziegler, WSJ, "Save the Songbirds: Plant These Shrubs and Bushes," 13 Sep. 2017 Cost: Eucalyptus, $2 a stem + fern, $12 a bunch + yellow winterberry, $13 a bunch; fishing line, $5 + and tea lights, $10 for 100. — Carly Cardellino, Cosmopolitan, "21 Super-Easy Bridal Floral Hacks That Will Save You a Ton of Money," 18 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'winterberry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about winterberry

Dictionary Entries near winterberry

Statistics for winterberry

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for winterberry

The first known use of winterberry was in 1752

See more words from the same year

Comments on winterberry

What made you want to look up winterberry? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

rebuff

to reject or criticize sharply

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Roman Mythology Quiz

Boreal comes from the name of the ancient Greek god of which wind?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games