woad

noun

\ ˈwōd

How to pronounce woad (audio)

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Definition of woad

: a European herb (Isatis tinctoria) of the mustard family formerly grown for the blue dyestuff yielded by its leaves also : this dyestuff

Examples of woad in a Sentence

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Seeing a peasant wearing red is improbable, but the abundance of woad makes blue dyes commonplace even among peasants. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "'Outlaw King' vs. 'Braveheart': Which Movie Gets Scotland Right?," 13 Nov. 2018 The family imported herring and woad in large enough quantities to buy an existing estate and win a kind of ersatz ennoblement. — Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, "Montaigne on Trial," 16 Jan. 2017

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

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The first known use of woad was before the 12th century

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