shrub

¹

[shruhb]

noun

1. a woody plant smaller than a tree, usually having multiple permanent stems branching from or near the ground.

shrub

²

[shruhb]

noun

1. any of various acidulated beverages made from the juice of fruit, sugar, and other ingredients, often including alcohol.

shrub

¹

/ ʃrʌb /

noun

1. a woody perennial plant, smaller than a tree, with several major branches arising from near the base of the main stem

shrub

²

/ ʃrʌb /

noun

1. a mixed drink of rum, fruit juice, sugar, and spice

2. mixed fruit juice, sugar, and spice made commercially to be mixed with rum or other spirits

shrub

1. A woody plant that is smaller than a tree, usually having several stems rather than a single trunk; a bush.

Other Word Forms

• shrubless adjective
• shrublike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shrub¹

before 1000; Middle English shrubbe, Old English scrybb brushwood; cognate with dialectal Danish skrub

Origin of shrub²

1740–50; < Arabic, metathetic variant of shurb drink; sherbet

Word History and Origins

Origin of shrub¹

Old English scrybb; related to Middle Low German schrubben coarse, uneven, Old Swedish skrubba to _scrub ¹

Origin of shrub²

C18: from Arabic sharāb, variant of shurb drink; see _sherbet

Example Sentences

Ibogaine, which is derived from a West African shrub, is a Schedule 1 drug in America with no legal medical uses, and experts urge caution because of the need for further studies.

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The agency’s website includes a long list of acceptable plants, which, unlike many such sites, starts with a long list of California native shrubs, grasses and ground covers that Guerrero compiled.

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But four years later, the yard and parkway are a thick tangle of grasses, green shrubs and vibrant flowers, as Kolding makes clear in an endearing short documentary film about their new landscape.

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But he was shocked by photos he saw of shrubs growing right up against the windows of the lodge, which is an invitation for disaster during a wildfire.

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Roosevelt’s take on this framed a series of looping paths with low shrubs and wildflowers.

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Related Words

• foliage 
• hedge 
• shrubbery 
• thicket 
• topiary 
• tree