sweet gum
Americannoun
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a tall, aromatic tree, Liquidambar styraciflua, of the eastern U.S., having star-shaped leaves and fruits in rounded, burlike clusters.
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the hard reddish-brown wood of this tree, used for making furniture.
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the amber balsam exuded by this tree, used in the manufacture of perfumes and medicines.
noun
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a North American liquidambar tree, Liquidambar styraciflua, having prickly spherical fruit clusters and fragrant sap: the wood (called satin walnut ) is used to make furniture Compare sour gum
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the sap of this tree
Etymology
Origin of sweet gum
An Americanism dating back to 1690–1700
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Behind the bar, they swagged a second garland made from teasel and sweet gum and poppy seed pods.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2022
Below him a four-inch white pipe ran from his house, across the yard just a few feet away from a basketball hoop, and into a copse of pine and sweet gum trees.
From The Guardian • Sep. 5, 2017
“I’ve made them out of cedar, bodock, sweet gum, hickory, sassafras,” he said.
From Washington Times • Sep. 18, 2016
Mainly in the fall this sweet gum tree dropped its fruit, sharp and pointy gumballs that worked wonders on mower blades and bare feet.
From Forbes • Jun. 5, 2014
And he was hearing it in the Blue Ridge Mountains under a sweet gum tree.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
