CRESS

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does cress mean? 

• CRESS (noun)
  The noun CRESS has 2 senses:

1. any of various plants of the family Cruciferae with edible leaves that have a pungent taste

2. pungent leaves of any of numerous cruciferous herbs

  Familiarity information: CRESS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CRESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various plants of the family Cruciferae with edible leaves that have a pungent taste

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

cress; cress plant

Hypernyms ("cress" is a kind of...):

crucifer; cruciferous plant (any of various plants of the family Cruciferae)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cress"):

watercress (any of several water-loving cresses)

Arabidopsis thaliana; mouse-ear cress (a small invasive self-pollinating weed with small white flowers; much studied by plant geneticists; the first higher plant whose complete genome sequence was described)

Arabidopsis lyrata (a small noninvasive cross-pollinating plant with white flowers; closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana)

rock cress; rockcress (any of several rock-loving cresses of the genus Arabis)

Arabis glabra; tower cress; tower mustard; Turritis glabra (or genus Arabis: erect cress widely distributed throughout Europe)

scurvy grass; St. Barbara's herb; winter cress (any plant of the genus Barbarea: yellow-flowered Eurasian cresses; widely cultivated for winter salad)

bitter cress; bittercress (any of various herbs of the genus Cardamine, having usually pinnate leaves and racemes of white, pink or purple flowers; cosmopolitan except Antarctic)

Cochlearia officinalis; common scurvy grass; scurvy grass (a widely distributed Arctic cress reputed to have value in treatment or prevention of scurvy; a concentrated source of vitamin C)

common garden cress; garden pepper cress; Lepidium sativum; pepper grass; pepperwort (annual herb used as salad green and garnish)

Holonyms ("cress" is a member of...):

Brassicaceae; Cruciferae; family Brassicaceae; family Cruciferae; mustard family (a large family of plants with four-petaled flowers; includes mustards, cabbages, broccoli, turnips, cresses, and their many relatives)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Pungent leaves of any of numerous cruciferous herbs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("cress" is a kind of...):

salad green; salad greens (greens suitable for eating uncooked as in salads)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cress"):

watercress (cresses that grow in clear ponds and streams)

garden cress (cress cultivated for salads and garnishes)

winter cress (cress cultivated for winter salads)

 Context examples 

They found that in thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings, the number of clock proteins peaks at different times in each organ.

(Plants can tell time even without a brain, University of Cambridge)