Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • hazel
    hazel
    noun
    any shrub or small tree belonging to the genus Corylus, of the birch family, having toothed, ovate leaves and bearing edible nuts, as C. avellana, of Europe, or C. americana and C. cornuta, of the Western Hemisphere.
  • Hazel
    Hazel
    noun
    a female given name.
Synonyms

hazel

1 American  
[hay-zuhl] / ˈheɪ zəl /

noun

  • hazels
    plural
  1. any shrub or small tree belonging to the genus Corylus, of the birch family, having toothed, ovate leaves and bearing edible nuts, as C. avellana, of Europe, or C. americana and C. cornuta, of the Western Hemisphere.

  2. any of several other shrubs or trees, as an Australian shrub, Pomaderris apetala.

  3. the wood of any of these trees.

  4. the hazelnut or filbert.

  5. light golden brown, as the color of a hazelnut.


adjective

  1. of or relating to the hazel.

  2. made of the wood of the hazel.

  3. having a light golden-brown color.

Hazel 2 American  
[hay-zuhl] / ˈheɪ zəl /

noun

  1. a female given name.


hazel British  
/ ˈheɪzəl /

noun

  1. Also called: cob. any of several shrubs of the N temperate genus Corylus, esp C. avellana, having oval serrated leaves and edible rounded brown nuts: family Corylaceae

  2. the wood of any of these trees

  3. short for hazelnut

    1. a light yellowish-brown colour

    2. ( as adjective )

      hazel eyes

"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

Usage

What color are hazel eyes? Opinions vary on what, exactly, constitutes hazel eyes. Some consider them to be any shade with light brown or gold tones; others think they are a variation of brown eyes, only with more green or gold in the iris.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns


Etymology

Origin of hazel

before 900; Middle English hasel; Old English hæs ( e ) l; cognate with German Hasel, Old Norse hasl, Latin corylus hazel shrub


Vocabulary lists containing hazel

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.

See Examples For:

Cooper described one of the other men as a bald Black man, approximately 5 feet 9 inches or 5 feet 10 inches tall, with light-brown or hazel eyes and a blue patterned crew-neck shirt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Buglife said animals including the Straw Belle, which now only survives at up to two sites in Surrey, and one of the UK's rarest insect, the hazel pot beetle, stand to benefit from the project.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Their findings show that temperate woodland species, including oak, elm, and hazel, were present much earlier than suggested by pollen records from Britain.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2026

The missile, named after the Russian word for hazel tree, was first fired on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro in 2024.

From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026

Dark-haired and quick-witted, William had charming manners, hazel eyes, and a “strongly intellectual face.”

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Pori, through his real-estate firm Kingsbarn Realty Capital, wants to build something similar to what Hazel Green Ranch’s former owner had proposed: a 150-room lodge and cabins scattered around the meadow’s perimeter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

In Beatles scholar Kevin Howlett’s detailed account of the making of the album, presented here in a tastefully illustrated 88-page hardback book, one of the unsung heroes of the record is Hazel Yarwood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Professor Hazel Clark, who teaches fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York, says that by limiting availability, tech firms have taken inspiration from the world of fashion.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

In Ashton-in-Makerfield, 61-year-old Hazel Ellis told AFP she planned to vote for Reform.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

Hazel was certain that he hadn’t been there a second ago.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

When placing plants in the quiet-season garden, Fox recommends planting dark-flowered witch hazels where the winter sun will shine through their blossoms, and placing light-colored flowers against an evergreen backdrop.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2021

No garden should be without hellebores or a daphne or two, winterberry hollies and witch hazels.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 19, 2019

We declare the season underway next week, but the natural stirring has been going on for some time, although probably unnoticed unless you grow camellias or witch hazels or keep honeybees.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2019

TUE Ray Larson, Curator of Living Collections, on witch hazels, 7:30 p.m.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 15, 2014

As quickly as they could they scrambled off the beaten way and up into the deep heather and bilberry brushwood on the slopes above, until they came to a small patch of thick-growing hazels.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Just like flashcards, but way more fun

Don't take our word for it. Leave the boring studying behind and join VocabTrainer today. You'll learn even faster and never look back.

Take me to Vocabulary.com