Tree Definition

trē
treed, treeing, trees
noun
trees
A woody perennial plant with one main stem or trunk which develops many branches, usually at some height above the ground.
Webster's New World
A treelike bush or shrub.
A rose tree.
Webster's New World
Anything resembling a tree in form, as in having a stem and branches.
Webster's New World
Something that resembles a tree in form, especially a diagram or arrangement that has branches showing relationships of hierarchy or lineage.
American Heritage
A structure for organizing or classifying data in which every item can be traced to a single origin through a unique path.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
verb
treed, treeing, trees
To chase up a tree.
Webster's New World
To place or stretch on a boot or shoe tree.
Webster's New World
To corner, as if chased up a tree; place in a difficult position.
Webster's New World
To supply or cover with trees.
A hillside that is treed with oaks.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
idiom
up a tree
  • In a situation of great difficulty or perplexity; helpless.
American Heritage
up a tree
  • in a situation without escape; cornered
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Tree

Noun

Singular:
tree
Plural:
trees

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Tree

Origin of Tree

  • From Middle English tree, tre, treo, treou, trew, trow, from Old English trÄ“o, trÄ“ow (“tree, wood, timber, beam, log, stake, stick, grove, cross, rood"), from Proto-Germanic *trewÄ… (“tree, wood"), from pre-Germanic *dréu̯om, thematic e-grade derivative of Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree"). Cognate with Scots tree (“wood, rod, stick"), North Frisian tre, trä (“tree"), Middle Dutch tree (“tree"), Danish træ (“tree"), Swedish trä (“wood"), träd (“tree"), Norwegian tre (“tree"), Icelandic tré (“tree"), Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌿 (triu, “tree, wood, piece of wood"), Albanian dru (“tree, wood"), Welsh dâr (“oaks"), Ancient Greek δόρυ (dóry, “wood, spear"), Russian дерево (derevo), Tocharian A or. Related to tar, true.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old English trēow deru- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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