n (Plants) a liliaceous evergreen shrub, Ruscus aculeatus, that has stiff prickle-tipped flattened green stems, which resemble and function as true leaves. The plant was formerly used for making brooms
butch′er's-broom`
n. a shrubby European evergreen, Ruscus aculeatus, of the lily family, used for making brooms. [1555–65]