oak

American  

[ohk] / oʊk /

noun

1. any tree or shrub belonging to the genus Quercus, of the beech family, bearing the acorn as fruit.

2. the hard, durable wood of an oak tree, used in making furniture and in construction.

3. Archaic. the leaves of an oak tree, especially as worn in a chaplet.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or made of oak.

   an antique oak desk;

   heavy oak doors with double locks.

idioms

1. sport one's oak, (of a university student) to indicate that one is not at home to visitors by closing the outer door of one's lodgings.

oak British  

/ əʊk /

noun

1. any deciduous or evergreen tree or shrub of the fagaceous genus Quercus, having acorns as fruits and lobed leaves See also holm oak cork oak red oak Turkey oak durmast

2. 1. the wood of any of these trees, used esp as building timber and for making furniture

   2. ( as modifier )

      an oak table

3. any of various trees that resemble the oak, such as the poison oak, silky oak, and Jerusalem oak

4. 1. anything made of oak, esp a heavy outer door to a set of rooms in an Oxford or Cambridge college

   2. to shut this door as a sign one does not want visitors

5. the leaves of an oak tree, worn as a garland

6. the dark brownish colour of oak wood

7. any of various species of casuarina, such as desert oak, swamp oak, or she-oak

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Other Word Forms

• oaklike adjective

Etymology

Origin of oak

First recorded before 900; Middle English ok(e), oc, Old English āc; cognate with Dutch eik, German Eiche, Old Icelandic eik; further origin uncertain

Example Sentences

She can’t even nudge it enough to let light in, and with dawning horror, she realizes their giant oak tree must have fallen on top of the cellar.

From Literature

He darted beneath the roots of a fallen oak and dashed through a hollow log.

From Literature

Smee thought about planting an oak tree instead but worried that a large tree might be too heavy for the retaining wall along the sidewalk, so he decided against it.

From Los Angeles Times

In 2016, workers cut down dozens of oaks trees on land managed by Justin to make room for new grape plantings, stirring up controversy.

From Los Angeles Times

This is a native landscape of dark and gnarly forms of oak trees, which are numbered in chalk to keep track of their stripping.

From The Wall Street Journal

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