| Noun | 1. | climbing bittersweet - twining shrub of North America having three-valved yellow capsules enclosing scarlet seedsCelastrus, genus Celastrus - type genus of the Celastraceae: bittersweet and shrubby bittersweet; woody vines and shrubs native chiefly to Asia and Australia vine - weak-stemmed plant that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface | |