sagebrush

noun

sage·​brush ˈsāj-ˌbrəsh How to pronounce sagebrush (audio)
: any of several North American hoary composite subshrubs (genus Artemisia)
especially : one (A. tridentata) having a bitter juice and an odor resembling sage and often covering vast tracts of alkaline plains in the western U.S.

Examples of sagebrush in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Standards ‘are not being met’ The sheepherders’ tent was miles off-trail in the mountains of Idaho, staked on a sagebrush hillside with a wide valley splayed out before it. Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 17 Jan. 2025 Grasses and sagebrush that had previously greened in spring rains dried to a crisp and stayed that way, a perfect buffet of fuel for a blaze to feast on. Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 8 Jan. 2025 The body of his ex-girlfriend, Talia Benward, 31, was found Saturday, concealed under sagebrush near a burn pit, according to an arrest document for Rocha-Aguayo, KSL.com reports. Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025 These traveling electricians are transforming the sagebrush here in central Washington, with substations going up on orchards and farmland. Jovelle Tamayo, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sagebrush 

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sagebrush was in 1850

Dictionary Entries Near sagebrush

Cite this Entry

“Sagebrush.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sagebrush. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

sagebrush

noun
sage·​brush ˈsāj-ˌbrəsh How to pronounce sagebrush (audio)
: any of several low shrubby North American plants related to the daisies
especially : a common plant with a bitter juice that smells like sage and is widespread on the plains of the western U.S.

More from Merriam-Webster on sagebrush

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