hornwort

noun

horn·​wort ˈhȯrn-ˌwərt How to pronounce hornwort (audio)
-ˌwȯrt
: any of a genus (Ceratophyllum of the family Ceratophyllaceae) of rootless thin-stemmed aquatic monoecious herbs with female flowers having a single carpel

Examples of hornwort 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.
Along with their cousins liverworts and hornworts, they are known as bryophytes. Elizabeth Waddington, Treehugger, 28 Feb. 2023 Anthocerotae Anthocerotae, also known as hornworts, are the third type of bryophyte. Kevin Espiritu For Partselect.com, Good Housekeeping, 29 Aug. 2017 Oishi said humid cities where moss thrives could benefit most from using bryophytes – a collective term for mosses, hornworts and liverworts – as bioindicators, adding moss could be monitored in its natural environment or cultivated for analysis. Sophie Hares, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1805, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hornwort was circa 1805

Dictionary Entries Near hornwort

Cite this Entry

“Hornwort.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hornwort. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

hornwort

noun
horn·​wort -ˌwərt How to pronounce hornwort (audio)
-ˌwȯ(ə)rt
: any of various plants that usually live in water and are related to the liverworts

More from Merriam-Webster on hornwort

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!