noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A North American buckthorn (Frangula purshiana, syn. Rhamnus purshiana) whose bark is used as a laxative.
2. 2
   dried bark of the cascara buckthorn used as a laxative wordnet
3. 3
   A laxative drug or preparation based on this plant.

   ""That's as bitter as a dose of cascara.""

4. 4
   Dried coffee cherry fruit used in teas and other drinks.

Synonyms

All synonyms

cascara sagradachittam barkchittem barklaxative

Example

More examples

""That's as bitter as a dose of cascara.""

Etymology

From Spanish cáscara (“bark" or "husk”).

Related phrases

cascara amargacascara sagradanorth american

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.