poison ivy
9
4.2
- noun
- /ˈpɔɪzən ˈaɪvi/
- US
:
hiedra venenosa
- Aunt Bernesia's got Flossie by the arm, steering her away from the poison ivy growing in the rose bushes while Uncle Jack stands there next to them trying to light his pipe.
- poison ivy rash
- poison ivy leaf
- watch out for poison ivy
And so Jim comes out and he's covered in calamine lotion from having fallen in a Poison Ivy patch somewhere.
- And so Jim comes out and he's covered in calamine lotion from having fallen in a Poison Ivy patch somewhere.
Examples
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Otherwise, Burt's Bees makes a poison ivy soap that contains jewelweed.
Blog text (21) -
From Altar Rock, they looked out over the moors, which were crimson with poison ivy.
Fiction book (1998) -
I remember one place that had a whole wall covered with poison ivy.
-
I have managed to avoid getting poison ivy so far, but I'm sure it's a matter of time.
Blog text (21) -
Sorry to hear about your poison ivy rash.
Blog text (21) -
Try to stay on this trail, because there's a lot of poison ivy along here.
-
Poison ivy, beautiful in its fall red, crawled around the base of trees.
Fiction book (1990) -
Birds do not get poison ivy rashes, and they love the berries.
Blog text (21) -
Outside, there is a narrow band of fescue, no wider than a moat, holding off the wilderness, and during the summer, Roger hacks at tendrils of poison ivy as if they were tentacles reaching up from unimaginable depths.
Fiction book (1998) -
Be careful not to touch that plant; it's poison ivy, and it can cause a painful rash.
Synonyms
A climbing plant with three-part leaves and white berries that makes an oil causing skin rashes when touched
A climbing or spreading North American plant with three-part leaves that makes an oil causing a skin rash when touched
A climbing plant with three joined leaves and white berries that makes a skin rash when you touch it
A climbing plant with three-part leaves and white berries that can cause an itchy rash
How Toxic
- US
9
4.2
15
6.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from 'poison' (a harmful substance) + 'ivy' (a plant): a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it is an ivy that is poisonous and likely to cause harm such as a rash. This noun–noun compound follows a regular compositional pattern (e.g. hiedra venenosa, lierre vénéneux), so it is readily understandable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Poison ivy gets its name from the plant's oily sap that can 'poison' your skin and from the way it climbs like an ivy. So the name refers to the plant that often causes a skin problem.