variants or less commonly rabbit brush or rabbit bush
: any of various shrubby composite plants (genera Chrysothamnus, Ericameria, and Lorandersonia) of western North America that have narrow leaves and clusters of small, typically yellow flowers, and that are tolerant of dry, poor, alkaline soils

Examples of rabbitbrush 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.
Compared to the desolate, almost alien landscape of South Dakota, the North Dakota badlands are flush with vibrant vegetation: Rocky Mountain juniper woodlands, cottonwoods that thrive in the Little Missouri River basin, and sunflowers, asters, and rabbitbrush that bloom in the late summer months. Erica Zazo, Outside Online, 9 Jan. 2025 Residents in those states looking to help native pollinators can join their local Bumble Bee Atlas chapter or fill their gardens with native flowers such as thistles, milkweed, sunflowers and rabbitbrush to provide more food to these busy bees. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rabbitbrush was circa 1890

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Cite this Entry

“Rabbitbrush.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rabbitbrush. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.

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