Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pokeweed

/ˈpoʊkˌwid/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.45 in modern English

Syllables: poke-weed
IPA: /ˈpoʊkˌwid/

18

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A poisonous North American plant, Phytolacca americana, with reddish stems, broad leaves, clusters of white flowers, and dark purple berries.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Native Americans introduced whites and slaves to several edible greens including marigold, milkweed, and pokeweed (Whit 2007). Slaves boiled pokeweed and often mixed it with turnip greens because it was thought that the two vegetables enhanced each other's flavor."

Etymology

From poke + weed. The first element is from Powhatan pocan.

Word Breakdown

Root: pocan

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpoʊkˌwid/

Usage

Inflected Forms

pokeweeds (plural)

Phrases

poke salad poke salet

Frequently Paired Words

poke salad poke salet

Synonyms

poke pokeberry pokeroot poke salad American pokeweed Virginian poke pocan American nightshade cancer root garget inkberry pigeonweed

Questions

How do you pronounce pokeweed?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpoʊkˌwid/.
What does pokeweed mean?: A poisonous North American plant, Phytolacca americana, with reddish stems, broad leaves, clusters of white flowers, and dark purple berries.
Where does pokeweed come from?: From poke + weed. The first element is from Powhatan pocan.

How to pronounce pokeweed

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pokeweed”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpoʊkˌwid/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pokeweed”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pokeweed” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.