tumbleweed
/ˈtʌmbəlˌwid/
noun
- A plant that breaks away from its roots and is blown by the wind across the ground, often seen in dry, open areas like deserts.
- A tumbleweed rolled across the empty highway in the desert.
- After the drought, the field was full of dry tumbleweeds caught against the fence.
- The old western movie showed a tumbleweed drifting past the saloon.
- A symbol of emptiness, loneliness, or a place that is abandoned or very quiet.
- His joke got no laughs—just silence, like a tumbleweed rolling through the room.
- The once-busy market was so empty you could almost see a tumbleweed go by.
- When the party ended, the room felt like a tumbleweed town.