What does besom mean?
A besom is a broom made from a bundle of twigs or brushwood—traditionally birch or heather—bound tightly around a wooden handle. Unlike modern bristled brooms, a besom's flexible twigs make it especially suited to sweeping uneven outdoor surfaces such as garden paths, lawns, and yards, where it clears debris without damaging the ground. The word survives chiefly in British English, particularly in gardening, rural crafts, and folklore, though in Scots and northern English dialect it has long served as the ordinary word for any broom. Besoms carry strong traditional associations: they appear at Halloween as stereotypical witches' flying brooms, and in a well-known British folk custom, couples "jump the besom" over a laid broom to seal a marriage informally. For writers and speakers, besom offers a vivid, evocative alternative to the plain word broom whenever rustic, historical, or magical connotations are wanted.
nounA besom is a broom made of twigs or brushwood tied around a stick, traditionally used for sweeping. It can also refer to any similar sweeping implement.
- A broom made of bound twigs or brushwood (traditionally birch) fixed to a handle, used especially for sweeping outdoors such as paths, yards, or hearths.
- By extension in Scots and northern English dialect: any broom or sweeping brush.
"The gardener swept the fallen leaves from the path with an old besom."
"She swept the wet leaves off the flagstones with a birch besom."
"In the old farmhouse kitchen, a besom stood beside the hearth for sweeping up ash."
Standard regular plural; used when referring to multiple brooms or to the material of which such brooms are made.
"The market stall sold hand-tied besoms alongside walking sticks and baskets."
In parts of Britain, couples who 'jump the besom' — leap over a birch-twig broom — are symbolically married, a folk custom that long predates formal wedding licenses.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of besom
Besom comes from Old English besma, meaning a broom or bundle of twigs, which is related to words for brushwood found across Germanic languages. Cognates include Old High German besamo, and the root connects ultimately to Indo-European terms for bushes and thickets, sharing distant kinship with words like bush and bouquet through the notion of woody growth. It has been in continuous use since the Old English period, making it far older than many everyday household words.
Related word forms
How besom is actually used
Besom is a somewhat literary, traditional, or dialectal word; most everyday speakers simply say "broom." In British gardening and craft contexts, however, it remains current as a specific term for a twig broom. The plural is besoms.
Easily confused with besom
A bosom is a person's chest or embrace, while a besom is a broom made of twigs — the two words differ by one letter but share no meaning.