briar

/ˈbraɪə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · [brˈaɪɚ] /ˈbraɪər/ (ame, ipa) · [brˈaɪɚ] /ˈbrī(-ə)r How to pronounce briar (audio)/ (ame, mw)

briar — noun

  • briarsingular
  • briarsplural

1. a rough wild bush with sharp thorns on its stems, especially one like a wild ros

1.名詞C1
釋義

a rough wild bush with sharp thorns on its stems, especially one like a wild rose or a blackberry plant

例句

A briar scratched Nadia's arm as she reached through the hedge.

briar scratched Nadia's arm

The old gate was hidden behind briars and nettles by spring.

briars and nettles around a gate

同義詞
  • bramble

    often overlaps, but bramble more strongly suggests blackberry growth

  • thornbush

    a plain descriptive word for any bush covered with thorns

  • wild rose

    more specific, used when the thorny plant is actually a rose

文法句型

briars grow over + wall

cut back the briars

push through briars

用法筆記

Often appears in literary or rural writing for prickly wild growth. In everyday speech, people may choose a more exact plant name, such as rose bush or blackberry bush.

2. a smoking pipe cut from the hard root of a Mediterranean heath shrub; in special

2.名詞C2
釋義

a smoking pipe cut from the hard root of a Mediterranean heath shrub; in specialist use, the word can also name the shrub itself

例句

Christopher lit his briar on the porch after supper.

light a briar after supper

A polished briar rested beside the tin of loose tobacco.

polished briar beside tobacco

同義詞
  • pipe

    broader everyday word for the smoking object

  • smoking pipe

    clearer full phrase, especially for learners

  • briar pipe

    more explicit phrase that highlights the material

文法句型

smoke a briar

light a briar

buy a briar with + stem

用法筆記

Today this usually means the pipe rather than the shrub. People who are not talking about pipe making often use the fuller phrase briar pipe to make the object clear.