Plant's defense against herbivores, perhaps

The answer to “Plant's defense against herbivores, perhaps” in the New York Times Mini crossword is THORN — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Mini crossword on May 25, 2025 at 4-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Plant's defense against herbivores, perhaps” answer

THORN (5 letters)

Use the reveal tiles above to uncover the solution one letter at a time if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Prefer the full answer straight away? It's THORN.

Why the answer is THORN

THORN is the 5-letter solution that fits "Plant's defense against herbivores, perhaps" in the NYT Mini crossword on May 25, 2025 (4-Down). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does THORN mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of THORN is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

When else has “Plant's defense against herbivores, perhaps” appeared?

New York Times Mini reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

May 25, 2025 (most recent) → THORN. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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