barberry

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈbɑːbərɪ/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(bär′ber′ē, -bə rē)

Inflections of 'barberry' (n): npl: barberries

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
bar•ber•ry  (bär′ber′ē, -bə rē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -ries. 
  1. Plant Biologya shrub of the genus Berberis, esp. B. vulgaris, having yellow flowers in elongated clusters. Cf. barberry family.
  2. Plant Biologythe red, elongated, acid fruit of this shrub.
  • Arabic barbāris), with -baris conformed to bere berry
  • Medieval Latin barbaris (
  • Middle English barbere 1350–1400

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
barberry / ˈbɑːbərɪ/ ( -ries)
  1. any spiny berberidaceous shrub of the widely distributed genus Berberis, esp B. vulgaris, having clusters of yellow flowers and orange or red berries: widely cultivated as hedge plants
Etymology: 15th Century: from Old French berberis, from Arabic barbāris
'barberry' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Allegheny barberry - Japanese barberry - Magellan barberry - May apple - Oregon grape - agarita - barberry family - berberidaceous - berberine - berberis - cohosh - epimedium - mahonia - nandina - wintergreen barberry

Forum discussions with the word(s) "barberry" in the title:


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