brier
/ˈbraɪə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · [brˈaɪɚ] /ˈbraɪər/ (ame, ipa)
brier — noun
- briersingular
- briersplural
1. a wild shrub with sharp points on its stems, often a kind of rose
a wild shrub with sharp points on its stems, often a kind of rose
Liang cut his hand while pulling a brier away from the gate.
brier as a thorny plant by a place
Camila planted beans beside the fence, but a brier soon climbed through.
Minh saw a bird hide inside the brier by the pond.
Michael wore thick gloves before cutting the brier near the path.
用法筆記
Often used for a single thorny bush growing by a path, fence, or gate.
2. a dense patch of thorny plants growing together in a tangled mass
a dense patch of thorny plants growing together in a tangled mass
Rachid pushed through the brier to reach the lost ball.
through the brier = thick patch of plants
Cyrus found rabbit tracks leading into the brier behind the barn.
Gabriel cleared a narrow path through the brier with garden shears.
Meera stopped at the edge of the brier and looked for snakes.
- thicket
broader word for any dense growth, not only thorny plants
- bramble patch
more specific to blackberry-like bushes
用法筆記
This sense treats brier as a whole area of growth, not one plant or stem.
3. a single stiff, pointed branch from a thorny plant
a single stiff, pointed branch from a thorny plant
Liam snapped a dry brier from the hedge and tossed it aside.
one brier = one sharp branch
Ayana caught her sleeve on a brier beside the trail.
Christopher used a brier to scratch a line in the dirt.
The child yelped when a brier scraped his calf near the creek.
- thorny twig
plain descriptive phrase rather than a fixed dictionary label
- thorn
smaller and sharper; not the whole branch
用法筆記
Used when the word means one sharp twig or branch, especially one that catches skin or clothing.
4. the hard root of a shrub used to make smoking pipes, or a pipe made from that wo
the hard root of a shrub used to make smoking pipes, or a pipe made from that wood
The shop window displayed old briers beside silver lighters.
plural briers can mean finished pipes
An elderly man cleaned his brier after dinner on the porch.
The maker chose brier because the wood stays strong in heat.
A collector bought a carved brier from a small pipe shop in Dublin.
- briar pipe
more explicit phrase for the finished smoking pipe
用法筆記
Usually found in pipe-making contexts; the plural briers often means smoking pipes rather than pieces of root.