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# nettle

«nettle» in Mova's school dictionary: **A wild plant with jagged leaves covered in tiny hairs…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a nettle, nettles; stinging nettle); verb (nettle — to annoy)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A wild plant with jagged leaves covered in tiny hairs that sting and cause an itchy, burning rash when they touch your skin. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#m1)

2) As a verb, to nettle someone means to annoy them a little. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science and outdoor safety, stinging nettles grow in hedges, woods and waste ground in the UK, Ireland, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The tiny hairs inject chemicals that cause white bumps and stinging; it usually goes away in a day. Wear long trousers on walks; wash the area and do not scratch. Many people rub dock leaves on nettle stings, though it may only help by distracting you. Butterflies like the peacock lay eggs on nettles, and cooked nettles can be eaten as soup. Phrases: "stinging nettle", "nettle sting", "grasp the nettle" (deal with a problem bravely).

### examples

- I fell into a patch of stinging nettles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#x1)
- The nettle sting left itchy white bumps on my leg. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#x2)
- Wear long trousers to walk through nettles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#x3)
- Caterpillars of the peacock butterfly eat nettles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#x4)
- Grandma makes soup from young nettle leaves, cooked so they don't sting. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#x5)
- We rubbed a dock leaf on the nettle sting. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#x6)
- Nettles have tiny hairs that sting. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#x7)
- His teasing nettled her. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#x8)
- All around grew nettles and tall grass. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/#x9)

### note

Countable: a nettle, nettles. Spelling: double t. Cooking or drying nettles stops the sting. "Grasp the nettle" means tackle a hard problem directly. Nettle stings are usually mild, but if someone has trouble breathing or a big reaction, get an adult quickly.

### In the corpora

- [Then you spot black spiky caterpillars on those same nettles, the babies of peacock and red admiral butterflies.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/340-weeds-and-wildflowers-dandelions-nettles-daisies-clover-and-plantain/3/)
- [Ants and nettles inject formic acid and other chemicals that irritate the nerves in your skin.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/15-acids-in-the-kitchen/16/)
- [Dock leaves on nettle stings help mostly because rubbing and coolness soothe; they are not a strong chemical cure.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/15-acids-in-the-kitchen/17/)
- [Stinging nettles have tiny hairs that inject a stinging liquid.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/237-plants-that-sting-and-poison/1/)
- [Tiny hairs on stinging nettle leaves inject a liquid that stings and itches, so keep away and wear long trousers on overgrown paths.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/237-plants-that-sting-and-poison/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «nettle» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nettle/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.