yucca

noun

yuc·​ca ˈyə-kə 

1

: any of a genus (Yucca) of sometimes arborescent plants of the asparagus family that occur in warm regions chiefly of western North America and have long sword-shaped often stiff fibrous-margined leaves on a usually woody base and bear a large panicle of white blossoms

2

: cassava

Illustration of yucca

Examples of yucca in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples include highly fragrant plants such as most herbs, marigolds, and bee balm, and plants with coarse, prickly, fuzzy, or thorny leaves such as lamb's ear and yucca. Plants like roses and hostas are particularly vulnerable to deer damage. —Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Dec. 2025

Other root vegetables are carrots, yucca, jicama, radishes, parsnips, and turnips. —Sheah Rarback, Miami Herald, 18 Dec. 2025

However one of the restaurant’s best dishes is the traditional sopa de pata, which is a very filling beef and tripe stew with yucca and vegetables like cabbage and corn. —Richard Guzman, Daily News, 10 Dec. 2025

At nearly 800,000 acres, Joshua Tree National Park features a whole host of amazing wonders, including Joshua tree (or yucca) forests, enormous rock formations, a cholla cactus garden, bighorn sheep, and tortoises. —Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 1 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Spanish yuca, of unknown origin

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for yucca

• plica
• pucca

Kids Definition

yucca

noun

yuc·​ca ˈyək-ə 

: any of a genus of plants that are related to the agaves, grow in warm dry regions mostly of western North America, have long pointed often stiff leaves, and produce a tall stiff stalk with whitish flowers