privet

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“
Commonly it is not so tall, is always well clipped and is so civil to strangers that one would wish to see its like on every street front, though he might prefer to find it not so invariably of the one sort of growth--a small, handsome privet, that is, which nevertheless fulfils its office with the perfection of a solid line of palace sentries.

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Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun Any of several shrubs of the genus Ligustrum, especially L. vulgare or L. ovalifolium, having opposite leaves and clusters of white flowers and widely used for hedges.
  2. noun Any of several similar or related plants.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (7)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Oh ya the President of the USA attacking a "privet" American citizen. —  Propeller Most Popular Stories
  • By the time Lloyd Blankfein sees the torches flickering through his privet, it will be too late to defend the honor of his cappuccino machine.
  • Whatever the "privet" CO. contract was in 2007 irrelevant once AIG was bailed out. —  Propeller Most Popular Stories
  • Tackling privet is neither rocket science nor art, but it is tough. —  OnlineAthens: Top Headlines
  • If you don't mind the wait, yews are a traditional shrub to use, but you could also consider hollies, privet or boxwood or even the taller ornamental grasses such as many of the Miscanthus species. —  BellaOnline - The Voice of Women
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This word has been looked up 59 times.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Origin unknown.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Formerly also privie; apparently a corruption of primet. Cf. prie.
 

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/ˈprɪvɛt/
by American Heritage

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