Definition of BRACKEN

bracken

Plural: brackens

Noun

  • A large, coarse fern that often forms dense thickets.
  • fern of southeastern Asia; not hardy in cold temperate regions
  • large coarse fern often several feet high; essentially weed ferns; cosmopolitan
  • Any of several coarse ferns, of the genus Pteridium, that form dense thickets; often poisonous to livestock.
  • An area of countryside heavily populated by this fern.

Examples

  • His opponent played BRACKEN, a long, winding word that felt like navigating a dense thicket.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English braken, probably of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *brakni (“undergrowth”), related to Proto-Germanic *brekaną and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”). Cognates include Danish bregne and Swedish bräken (“fern”).

Synonyms

brake, pasture brake, Pteridium aquilinum, Pteridium esculentum

Scrabble Score: 15

bracken: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
bracken: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
bracken: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 18

bracken: valid Words With Friends Word