Nature & Language
nettle
Computer-generated voice, not a recording. It may differ from the pronunciation guide.
IPA as listed by Wiktionary.
In short
A nettle is a plant whose leaves are covered in stinging hairs. As a verb, to nettle someone is to irritate or annoy them.
Figuratively, the verb borrows the plant's sting.
01 Meaning
What does nettle mean?
The plant meaning comes first. Wiktionary describes a nettle as any plant with stinging hairs on its leaves, especially the common stinging nettle. The word is also used more loosely for spiny or prickly plants, for non-stinging lookalikes such as dead-nettles, and sometimes for anything that causes a similar rash, such as a jellyfish.
The verb followed from the sting. To nettle is literally to sting and cause a rash, and figuratively to irritate or vex someone. If something nettles you, it gets under your skin without doing serious harm.
02 Word origin
Where does it come from?
Nettle comes from Old English netle, netele and netel. It goes back to a Proto-Germanic form of unknown origin. German Nessel and Dutch netel are relatives, and the root may be related to English "net", though Wiktionary notes that this is uncertain.
03 In context
How to use it in a sentence
“He brushed against a nettle and felt his hand begin to sting.”
“The reviewer's careless remark nettled the author for days.”
Sources and updates
- nettle, Cambridge Dictionary. Checked October 20, 2026.
- nettle - Origin and history, Online Etymology Dictionary. Checked October 20, 2026.
- nettle, Wiktionary. Checked October 19, 2026.
Definitions and examples are written in our own words from the sources above. Published . Updated .