jack-in-the-pulpit

[ jak-in-thuh-pool-pit, -puhl- ]

/ ˈdʒæk ɪn ðəˈpʊl pɪt, -ˈpʌl- /

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noun, plural jack-in-the-pul·pits.

A North American plant, Arisaema triphyllum, of the arum family, having an upright spadix arched over by a green or striped purplish-brown spathe.

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Origin of jack-in-the-pulpit

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Words nearby jack-in-the-pulpit

jack in, jacking engine, jack-in-office, jack-in-the-box, jack-in-the-green, jack-in-the-pulpit, Jack Ketch, jackknife, jackknife-fish, jack ladder, jackleg

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use jack-in-the-pulpit in a sentence

But he couldn't see Uncle Wiggily because he was safely hidden in the Jack-in-the-pulpit.
Uncle Wiggily's Travels|Howard R. Garis
So that's how the Jack-in-the-pulpit saved the rabbit and very thankful Uncle Wiggily was.
Uncle Wiggily's Travels|Howard R. Garis
So the rabbit traveler looked up, and there he saw a flower called Jack-in-the-pulpit looking down on him.
Uncle Wiggily's Travels|Howard R. Garis
There were sedgy plants in bloom, jack-in-the-pulpit, and what might have been a lily, with a more euphonious name.
A Little Girl in Old Salem|Amanda Minnie Douglas

Betty never failed to visit a part of the grounds devoted to wild flowers, including May-apples and jack-in-the-pulpit.
Betty Lee, Freshman|David Goodger (goodger@python.org)

British Dictionary definitions for jack-in-the-pulpit

jack-in-the-pulpit

noun

an E North American aroid plant, Arisaema triphyllum, having a leaflike spathe partly arched over a clublike spadix

British another name for cuckoopint

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012