common garden cress

3.2

A small fast-growing herb with peppery leaves used in salads and as a garnish

noun
/ˈkɑːmən ˈɡɑːrdən krɛs/

: berro común

The chef used common garden cress as a garnish to give the dish a peppery kick.

Examples

She sprinkled fresh common garden cress over her salad for added flavor.
Common garden cress is easy to grow in pots on a sunny windowsill.
I added common garden cress to my salad.
Have you tried common garden cress in your sandwiches?
Common garden cress is easy to grow in pots on a sunny windowsill.
She sprinkled fresh common garden cress over her salad for added flavor.
The chef used common garden cress as a garnish to give the dish a peppery kick.

Synonyms

cress

vscommon garden cress

4 3.2

A small plant with spicy leaves eaten raw in salads

names one specific fast growing species with notably peppery leaves

garden pepper cress

vscommon garden cress

7.0

A small plant with spicy leaves used to add flavor to salads and decorate food

is the common name rather than the more descriptive variant

garden cress

vscommon garden cress

3.7

A plant with spicy leaves that grows quickly and is used in salads

is the species focused term highlighting peppery leaves and identity

Lepidium sativum

vscommon garden cress

Specialized

7.9

A small herb with peppery leaves used in salads and as a garnish

is the casual common name used in cooking and informal contexts

pepperwort

vscommon garden cress

9.8

A small herb with peppery leaves used raw in salads

is the specific species widely grown with particular peppery leaves

pepper grass

vscommon garden cress

4.8

A small herb with spicy leaves used in salads or as a garnish

is more specifically peppery and denotes a particular fast growing species

cress plant

vscommon garden cress

3.5

A small leafy plant with a peppery taste used in salads

refers to one specific species rather than many related plants

Surface Forms

common garden cress singular

common garden cresses plural

Morphology

common + garden + cress

The phrase is a fully compositional noun phrase: 'garden' specifies the type of 'cress' (a salad herb) and 'common' simply indicates it is the typical/widely found variety. This literal modifier + noun structure is straightforward and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Common garden cress is a name that simply describes the plant: cress is a small, peppery herb and people grew it in the garden, so it was an ordinary or 'common' plant. That's why the name refers to a fast-growing, everyday herb used to add a peppery taste to salads and dishes.