madrone
Americannoun
-
any of several evergreen trees belonging to the genus Arbutus, of the heath family, especially A. menziesii Pacific madrone of western North America, having red, flaky bark and bearing edible reddish berries.
-
the pale reddish-brown wood of this tree.
Etymology
Origin of madrone
An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; from Latin American Spanish (Panama, Colombia), Spanish madroño “strawberry tree,” Mozarabic maṭroño; further origin uncertain
Compare meaning
How does madrone compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
“I remember feeling the sun shining through the madrone or manzanita trees, the air smelling good, like fresh outdoor air,” Ringo, now in her 30s, told The Mercury News.
From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2022
We gazed through a window at the tops of oak and madrone trees growing on the slope.
From The New Yorker ● May 20, 2019
I love ponderosa pine, aspen, red alder, madrone, pinyon juniper, maple … each its own character, spirit and visual expression.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2018
Firefighters described how hard it was to walk on steep slopes with brush and slick madrone leaves.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 2, 2017
Every fifty yards there was another card sticking on a bush, or hanging from the branches of a madrone, or tacked to the trunk of a buckeye, and all of them said, “Welcome Home.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
