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🌱 A hooked seed 🌸 A wetland plant
tearthumb

tearthumb

9.9
A small hooked seed that sticks to clothes or fur
  • noun
  • /ˈtɪrˌθʌm/
  • US
translation icon : espina de tearthumb
  • The gardener warned us about the sharp tearthumb that can cling to your clothes.

Examples

  • After walking through the field, I found a tearthumb stuck to my sock.

  • She carefully removed a tearthumb from her dog's fur after their hike.

  • Watch out for the tearthumb!

  • Oh no! A tearthumb just got stuck in my sweater!

  • After walking through the field, I found a tearthumb stuck to my sock.

  • The gardener warned us about the sharp tearthumb that can cling to your clothes.

  • She carefully removed a tearthumb from her dog's fur after their hike.

Synonyms

burr
vstearthumb
3 7.5

A prickly seed head that sticks to fur and clothes

is a specific hooked seed that catches on clothing or skin

Surface Forms

tearthumb singular
tearthumbs plural

Morphology

tearthumb = tear + thumb (transparent) = tear + thumb

The sense (a hooked seed or spine that catches/tears the thumb) follows directly from 'tear' + 'thumb'.

Etymology

The word tearthumb can also mean the small hooked seed from that plant, and it comes from tear ('to rip') + thumb because the little hooks catch on your thumb, skin, or clothes and can pull or tear them. So a tearthumb is the clingy, sharp seed that sticks to you.