briar C2 Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives US /ˈbɹaɪɚ/ UK /bɹaɪə/ See IPA manual Freq #27646 Meanings 1 noun a thorny shrub or vine His sleeve caught on a briar near the wall. 2 noun wood from a tree-heath root used for tobacco pipes The pipe was carved from briar. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a thorny shrub or vine thorny shrubbramble 2 noun · wood from a tree-heath root... briarwood Word family Forms briars Derived forms briarsbriary Related forms thornbramblerose Appears in Phrases (2) See all briar pipe a tobacco pipe made from the woody root of tree heath Noun + noun briar patch an area densely covered with thorny shrubs or vines Noun + noun Etymology From Middle English brere, from Old English brer or braer, 'briar, bramble'. brere Middle English brēr Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # briar **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈbɹaɪɚ/ **IPA (UK):** /bɹaɪə/ **Frequency rank:** 27646 ## Meanings 1. a thorny shrub or vine 2. wood from a tree-heath root used for tobacco pipes ## Examples - His sleeve caught on a briar near the wall. - The pipe was carved from briar. ## Synonyms - thorny shrub - bramble ## Derived Forms - briars - briary ## Related Forms - thorn - bramble - rose ## Roots and Affixes - Root: brere - Root: brēr ## Etymology From Middle English brere, from Old English brer or braer, 'briar, bramble'. ## Topics - Word Formation & Derivatives - General Vocabulary markdown