briar

/ˈbɹaɪɚ//bɹaɪə/

briar noun: any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera.

Image: John Tann from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

briar (plural briars)

Any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera.
- Youngthes folke now flocken in every where,
  To gather May-buskets and smelling brere1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Maye. Ægloga Quinta.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC
(figuratively) Anything that is sharp or unpleasant to the feelings.
- ¶ And thou ſonne of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their wordes, though bryars and thornes be with thee, and thou doeſt dwell among ſcorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be diſmayed at their lookes, though they be a rebellious houſe.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ezekiel 2:6
- Rov'd far, and gather'd much : some harsh, 't is true, / Pick'd from the thorns and briers of reproof, / But wholesome, well-digested;[…]1785, William Cowper, The Task^(https://books.google.co.in/books?id=HqtbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA168&dq=The+thorns+and+briers+of+reproof.+(Cowper)&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSlr2ewLXkAhUOcCsKHWbMBSgQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepa...

Noun (2)

briar (plural briars)

Tree heath (Erica arborea), a thorny Mediterranean shrub.
A pipe for smoking, made from the roots of that shrub.
- Then he put the insulted pipe in his pocket, corked himself up with the immense briar, and sneered at Cripps over the top of it.1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 12

Proper noun capitalized: Briar

Briar

A topographic surname from Middle English.
A unisex given name from English.

briar meaning in Urdu

briar in Urdu

کانٹے دار جھاڑی

Forms of briar

plural	briars
alternative form	brier
alternative Scotland	breer
alternative form (obsolete)	brere
alternative form (obsolete)	breare

Plural of briar: briars

Origin of briar

From Middle English brere, from Old English brēr [Old Mercian], brǣr (“briar, bramble”); further origin unknown, perhaps related to Old French bruiere (“heather”) (French bruyère). Compare Old Norse brǫrr (“briar”), whence Icelandic brörr.

From French bruyère, assimilated with Etymology 1, above.

As a surname Middle English brere (“briar”).

Words formed from briar

Phrases with briar

briar patch

Words that rhyme with briar

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about briar

What does briar mean?: Briar means any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera.
What is briar in Urdu?: Briar in Urdu is کانٹے دار جھاڑی. See Briar meaning in Urdu.
What part of speech is briar?: Briar can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce briar?: Briar is pronounced /bɹaɪə/ (UK).
What is the plural of briar?: The plural of briar is briars.

Words near briar in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: briar (page history and authors); Briar (page history and authors); briar (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-briar.wav.

Cite this entry: “briar.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/briar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.