spurge
noun
ˈspərj 
: any of a family (Euphorbiaceae) of widely distributed herbs, shrubs, and trees often with a bitter milky juice
especially : euphorbia
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Your two weeds are spotted spurge in the first picture and pearlwort in the second picture. 
oregonlive, 21 Aug. 2022 The same plantings from the courtyard—including Jerusalem sage, upright myrtle spurge, and lavender—were repeated throughout the property. Deanna Kizis, Sunset Magazine, 2 Feb. 2022 Be careful not to confuse mountain spurge with similar-looking Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis), which is invasive. Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2021 Flowering spurge, a great baby’s-breath accent by itself, can turn a wonderful orange or scarlet. Miri Talabac, baltimoresun.com, 30 Sep. 2021 Readers immediately identified the culprit in several small clusters of yellow flowers over rubbery, succulent stems and leaves: Myrtle spurge. Erin Alberty, The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 Apr. 2021 Myrtle spurge also is banned in Colorado and Oregon, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Erin Alberty, The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 Apr. 2021 The Natural History Museum had in its records from the 1980s a plant, rolled leaf spurge, that emerged after monsoonal rains on Whale Peak. John Wilkens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Oct. 2020 Or a basic-but-not-boring trench and a totally out-of-this-world, definition-of-spurge-worthy bag? Vogue, 14 Mar. 2019 See More
oregonlive, 21 Aug. 2022 The same plantings from the courtyard—including Jerusalem sage, upright myrtle spurge, and lavender—were repeated throughout the property. Deanna Kizis, Sunset Magazine, 2 Feb. 2022 Be careful not to confuse mountain spurge with similar-looking Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis), which is invasive. Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2021 Flowering spurge, a great baby’s-breath accent by itself, can turn a wonderful orange or scarlet. Miri Talabac, baltimoresun.com, 30 Sep. 2021 Readers immediately identified the culprit in several small clusters of yellow flowers over rubbery, succulent stems and leaves: Myrtle spurge. Erin Alberty, The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 Apr. 2021 Myrtle spurge also is banned in Colorado and Oregon, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Erin Alberty, The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 Apr. 2021 The Natural History Museum had in its records from the 1980s a plant, rolled leaf spurge, that emerged after monsoonal rains on Whale Peak. John Wilkens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Oct. 2020 Or a basic-but-not-boring trench and a totally out-of-this-world, definition-of-spurge-worthy bag? Vogue, 14 Mar. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French espurge, spurge, from espurger to clean out, purge, from Latin expurgare — more at expurgate
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing spurge
Medical Definition
spurge
noun
ˈspərj
: any of various mostly shrubby plants (family Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, and especially genus Euphorbia) that have a bitter milky juice and that include several which have been used medicinally see ipecac spurge