tree Hear it!

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tree definition

tree (trē)

noun

  1. a woody perennial plant with one main stem or trunk which develops many branches, usually at some height above the ground
  2. a treelike bush or shrub a rose tree
  3. a wooden beam, bar, pole, post, stake, etc.
  4. anything resembling a tree in form, as in having a stem and branches; specif.,
    1. family tree
    2. Chem. a treelike formation of crystals
  5. Archaic
    1. the cross on which Jesus was crucified
    2. a gallows

Etymology: ME < OE trēow, akin to Goth triu, ON trē < IE base *deru-, tree, prob. orig. oak tree > Gr drys, oak, (den)dron, tree

transitive verb treed, treeing tree′·ing

  1. ☆ to chase up a tree
  2. to place or stretch on a boot or shoe tree
  3. ☆ Informal to corner, as if chased up a tree; place in a difficult position

Related Forms:

tree Idioms

up a tree

☆
Informal in a situation without escape; cornered

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms tree idiom

tree Synonyms

tree

n.

Common types of trees include: ash, elm, oak, maple, catalpa, evergreen, spruce, balsam, birch, tulip, aspen, fir, cypress, juniper, larch, tamarack, pine, cedar, beech, chestnut, eucalyptus, hickory, walnut, sycamore, ailanthus, magnolia, olive, fig, ficus, plane, palm, willow, locust, sequoia, redwood, poplar, acacia, cottonwood, beech, box elder, apple, crabapple, redbud, mulberry, cherry, peach, plum, pear, prune, banyan, baobab, bamboo, abba, calabra, betel, mahogany, ebony, bo, ironwood, dogwood, ginko, bottle;

up a tree*

cornered, in difficulty, trapped; see in trouble 1 at trouble.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

tree Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • fel: The trees felled will be replaced with a coppice woodland.

Adjective modifier

  • mature: A stream runs through the bottom of the gardens to the front which have lawns, flower and shrub borders and mature trees.

Modifies a noun

  • planting: We will now offset the carbon emissions we produce with an annual tree planting, making us a carbon neutral company.

Noun used with modifier

  • palm: I said I will climb up the palm tree, I will take hold of the branches thereof.
tree usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

tree quotes

I wyll that my son manhede take For reson wyll that there be threö A man, a madyn, and a tre. Man for man, tre for tre, Madyn for madyn; thus shall it be.

-Anonymous

Dear Sir, your astonishment's odd: I am always about in the Quad. And that's why the tree Will continue to be Since observed by Yours faithfully,God. See Knox 476:22.

-Anonymous

There were three ravens sat on a tree, They were as black as they might be. The one of them said to his make, 'Where shall we our breakfast take?'

-Ballads

tree quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"tree." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/tree>

APA Style

tree. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/tree

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