# weed

> English word · Noun · IPA /wiːd/ · frequency rank #4,566

## Definitions
1. Any plant unwanted at the place where and at the time when it is growing.
2. Ellipsis of duckweed.
3. Underbrush; low shrubs.
4. A drug or the like made from the leaves of a plant.
5. A drug or the like made from the leaves of a plant.
6. A drug or the like made from the leaves of a plant.
7. A weak horse, which is therefore unfit to breed from.
8. A puny person; one who has little physical strength.
9. Something unprofitable or troublesome; anything useless.

## Etymology
From Middle English weed, weod, from Old English wēod (“weed”), from Proto-West Germanic *weud (“weed”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Jood (“weed”), West Frisian wjûd (“weed”), Dutch wied (“unwanted plant, weed”), German Low German Weed (“weed”), Old High German wiota (“fern”). See also woad.

## Easily confused with
- **wet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wet)
- **WWE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wwe)
- **Wes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wes)
- **wen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wen)
- **Wei** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wei)
- **woe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-woe)
- **Wie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wie)
- **wer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wer)
- **wye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wye)
- **WMD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wmd)
- **wid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wid)
- **when** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-when)
- **were** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-were)
- **well** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-well)
- **week** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-week)
- **went** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-went)
- **west** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-west)
- **word** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-word)
- **wind** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wind)
- **wild** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wild)

## Common misspellings (4)
`ewed`, `wede`, `weedd`, `wweed`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/weed