a very prickly woody vine of the eastern United States growing in tangled masses having tough round stems with shiny leathery leaves and small greenish flowers followed by clusters of inedible shiny black berries • Syn: bullbrier, greenbrier, catbrier, horse brier, horse-brier, brier, briar • Derivationally related forms: briary (for: briar) • Hypernyms: vine • Member Holonyms: Smilax, genus Smilax