Definition of "agave" []

• Any of numerous plants of the genus Agave, native to hot, dry regions of the New World and having basal rosettes of tough, sword-shaped, often spiny-margined leaves. Agaves are grown for ornament, fiber, and food. Also called century plant. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Although the process varies from distiller to distiller, the basics are pretty much the same: first the agave is allowed to grow for ten years."
• "I left off the agave nectar because agave is a natural complement of tequila."
• "Heavy machinery is used for clearing agave from the construction site."