Meaning & use

beggar lice

noun·Advanced

The common name for several plants whose small, barbed seed pods cling stubbornly to clothing and animal fur.

See it in a sentence

After the hike, her socks were covered in beggar lice that took ages to pick off.

The dog came back from the field dotted with beggar lice stuck in its coat.

A note on using this word

The name comes from the seeds' habit of clinging like lice to anything that brushes past the plant.

Words with a similar meaning

stickseed

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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