What does herb mean?
Herb most often names a plant or plant part used to flavor food or for medicinal purposes. The culinary sense covers familiar items such as basil, mint, parsley, rosemary, and thyme, and “fresh herbs” and “dried herbs” are common collocations. In botanical usage, herb means a non-woody flowering plant, especially one valued for its aroma or restorative qualities. Informal English also uses herb for cannabis, giving the word a double life that can surprise readers. More rarely, it can refer to vegetation or greenery collectively. The word conveys both the ordinary idea of a useful kitchen plant and a broader association with natural healing and living growth. That makes it useful beyond cooking: in historical and medicinal writing, herbs often appear as remedies or ingredients in preparations. Its form also records a regional feature: traditional British usage favors “a herb,” whereas American usage commonly favors “an herb,” reflecting the initial h's pronunciation. Overall, herb is a compact, adaptable word rooted in the older botanical vocabulary of plants and their uses.
As a noun, herb is a plant or plant part used in cooking, medicine, or fragrance; in botanical usage, it means a non-woody flowering plant, and informally it can mean cannabis.
"She added fresh herbs to the sauce just before serving."
The cannabis sense is informal. The collective sense for vegetation or greenery is less common than the culinary and botanical senses.
To season or flavor something with herbs.
"Herb the vegetables with fresh parsley and thyme."
The verb is uncommon in ordinary contemporary prose.
Normally countable. In the culinary sense, traditional British usage favors “a herb,” while American usage commonly favors “an herb”; both are accepted.
"The recipe calls for three fresh herbs and a pinch of salt."
Herb has a double life: it can mean oregano in the kitchen or cannabis in informal speech, with context doing all the work.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does herb come from?
The modern English word entered Middle English through Anglo-French herbe or herbe, ultimately from Latin herba, an ancient word for a plant or vegetation. Latin herba also underlies related English forms such as herbarium, herbage, and herbaceous, while the same tradition produced herbal and herbalist. These words preserve herb's long history as a term for vegetation, especially plants valued for taste, fragrance, or healing.
Related word forms
How herb is actually used
In culinary use, the plural is normally herbs. Traditional British usage favors “a herb,” while American usage commonly favors “an herb,” reflecting the initial h's pronunciation; both forms are accepted. The cannabis sense is informal and may be unsuitable in formal or sensitive contexts.
Easily confused with herb
A herb is a plant or plant part used for food, medicine, or fragrance, whereas a herd is a group of animals.