any of several usually spiny trees or shrubs belonging to the genus Prosopis, of the legume family, as P. juliflora or P. glandulosa, of western North America, having bipinnate leaves and beanlike pods and often forming dense thickets.
the wood of such a tree or shrub, used especially in grilling or barbecuing food.
any of various similar or related plants.
1830–40, < Mexican Spanish mezquite < Nahuatl mizquitl
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
North of the pavement, the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness holds a quieter terrain, where sunflower, ephedra and honey mesquite anchor the sand in subtle defiance of the wind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
Birds sing among dense copses of mesquite trees; flowers hang heavily from bushes; ocelots and jaguars pass through.
From Slate ● May 26, 2025
It would also go well with a grilled steak or another fatty meat with mesquite aroma.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
California’s groundwater-dependent ecosystems lie not only along streams, but also in habitats such as mountain meadows, coastal redwood forests and mesquite bushes among desert sand dunes.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2024
The Mexicans follow, up a steep embankment, along a well-worn dirt path, past mesquite bushes and behind some tamarind trees, until they are next to a large, round, flat tank.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
The No. 2 company on the list, Hithium, opened a factory last year in Mesquite, Texas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
The new General Dynamics facility in Mesquite, Texas, will make 30,000 each month once it reaches its full capacity.
From New York Times ● May 29, 2024
The officers are on paid leave pending the results of the investigation by Mesquite Police and Dallas County prosecutors.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2024
The finished solar cells will be shipped to Canadian Solar’s module assembly facility in Mesquite, Texas.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 30, 2023
And now Harboro had put aside the incident of the Mesquite Club ball as if it did not involve anything more than a question of pique.
From Children of the Desert by Dodge, Louis
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.
