bramble

bramble — noun

IPA/ˈbræmbl/
KK[brˈæmbəl]IPA/ˈbræmbl/
  • bramblesingular
  • bramblesplural

1. a thorny wild bush that grows blackberries on long bending stems

1.nounB2
Definition

a thorny wild bush that grows blackberries on long bending stems

Example

A bramble with ripe blackberries leaned over the garden fence.

bramble with ripe blackberries

Baraka tore his glove on a bramble by the stream.

Common collocations
  • bramble patch
  • cut back brambles
Synonyms
  • blackberry bush

    a clearer everyday name for the same kind of plant

  • briar

    broader and sometimes more literary than bramble

Grammar Patterns

brambles grow along hedges

cut back the brambles

Usage Note

Usually names the prickly blackberry plant itself, not the fruit. In countryside writing, brambles often means a tangled patch of these bushes.

2. a small juicy black fruit picked from a bramble bush

2.nounC1
Definition

a small juicy black fruit picked from a bramble bush

Example

Noa dropped a ripe bramble into the yogurt on top.

ripe bramble into yogurt

The baker crushed fresh brambles for the tart filling.

fresh brambles for a tart

Common collocations
  • fresh brambles
  • wash the brambles
  • bramble tart
Synonyms
  • blackberry

    the standard everyday word for this fruit

Grammar Patterns

eat a bramble

wash the brambles

Usage Note

This fruit sense is much less common than blackberry in everyday English. Readers are more likely to meet it in British or rural contexts.

3. any rough wild shrub or vine with many thorns

3.nounC1
Definition

any rough wild shrub or vine with many thorns

Example

Goats would not enter the field because thick brambles blocked the gap.

thick brambles blocked the gap

The old ruin was hidden under brambles and climbing ivy.

Common collocations
  • thick brambles
  • hack through brambles
Synonyms
  • thornbush

    a plain descriptive word for a bush covered in thorns

  • briar

    often similar, but can sound more literary or regional

Grammar Patterns

hack through brambles

hide under brambles

Usage Note

This broader sense can mean thorny wild growth in general, not only the blackberry plant. It often appears in the plural for dense, hard-to-cross patches.

bramble — verb

IPA/ˈbræm.bəl/
KK[brˈæmbəl]IPA/ˈbræm.bəl/

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Bramble usually points to a wild, thorny plant, especially one that bears blackberries. Blackberry bush is clearer and more everyday when you simply mean the fruiting plant in a garden or hedgerow. Briar often overlaps with bramble, but it can sound more literary and may refer to other prickly plants too. Thornbush is a plain descriptive word for any bush with thorns, so it fits the broader sense better than the blackberry sense. If a child scratches a hand while reaching for fruit, bramble or blackberry bush works well. If an old wall is hidden under rough, prickly growth, briar or thornbush may fit better.

bramble ↗blackberry bushbriar ↗thornbush ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bramble patch

Phrases

  • cut through brambles

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Bramble comes from an old English word for a thorny blackberry bush. The form has stayed in the language for many centuries, and the modern word still keeps that link to rough, prickly growth in the countryside.