sweet gum


noun
  1. a tall, aromatic tree, Liquidambar styraciflua, of the eastern U.S., having star-shaped leaves and fruits in rounded, burlike clusters.

  2. the hard reddish-brown wood of this tree, used for making furniture.

  1. the amber balsam exuded by this tree, used in the manufacture of perfumes and medicines.

Origin of sweet gum

1
An Americanism dating back to 1690–1700
  • Also called red gum (for defs. 1, 2).

Words Nearby sweet gum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sweet gum in a sentence

  • On our way I saw Lejoillie eagerly eyeing the branches of a tree producing a sweet gum.

    In the Wilds of Florida | W.H.G. Kingston
  • sweet gum, walnut, or oak may be left in its natural state, and oiled to bring out the grain and finish.

  • In the "flats" in certain parts of Jackson and Scott Counties it becomes a common tree, associated with pin oak and sweet gum.

    Trees of Indiana | Charles Clemon Deam
  • Usually it is associated with such low ground species as pecan, sweet gum, swell-butt ash, and the cane.

    Trees of Indiana | Charles Clemon Deam
  • sweet gum should be one of the principal species in wet places of the woodlots of southern Indiana.

    Trees of Indiana | Charles Clemon Deam

British Dictionary definitions for sweet gum

sweet gum

noun
  1. 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

  2. the sap of this tree

  • Often shortened to: red gum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012