- any tracheophyte plant of the phylum Filicinophyta, having roots, stems, and fronds and reproducing by spores formed in structures (sori) on the fronds
See also tree fern - any of certain similar but unrelated plants, such as the sweet fern
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
fern /fɜrn/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. ferns or fern.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Plant Biologya nonflowering plant having fronds and reproducing by spores.
fern
(fûrn),USA pronunciation n.
fern′less, adj.
fern′like′, adj.
Fern (fûrn),USA pronunciation n.
- Plant Biologyany seedless, nonflowering vascular plant of the class Filicinae, of tropical to temperate regions, characterized by true roots produced from a rhizome, triangular fronds that uncoil upward and have a branching vein system, and reproduction by spores contained in sporangia that appear as brown dots on the underside of the fronds.
- bef. 900; Middle English ferne, Old English fearn; cognate with German Farn fern, Sanskrit parná feather
fern′like′, adj.
Fern (fûrn),USA pronunciation n.
- a female given name.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
fern /fɜːn/ n
'fern' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
acrogen
- asparagus
- fishbone fern
- frond
- hart's-tongue
- indusium
- leaflet
- maidenhair fern
- osmunda
- ponga
- pteridology
- pteridophyte
- royal fern
- silver fern
- staghorn fern
- stipe
- tree fern
- wall rue
- weed
- adder's-tongue
- Alice's fern
- asparagus fern
- asparagus fern caterpillar
- ball fern
- basket fern
- beech fern
- beet armyworm
- bird's-nest fern
- bladder fern
- Boston fern
- bottle fern
- bracken
- brake
- brittle fern
- California gold fern
- caudex
- chain fern
- Christmas fern
- cinnamon fern
- Clayton fern
- climbing fern
- compound leaf
- crosier
- dagger fern
- deer fern
- ebony spleenwort
- fancy fern
- far
- fern asparagus
- fern bar