any tree or shrub of the genus Salix, characterized by narrow, lance-shaped leaves and dense catkins bearing small flowers, many species having tough, pliable twigs or branches used for wickerwork, etc.
the wood of any of these trees.
Informal. something, especially a cricket bat, made of willow wood.
Also called willower, willy. a machine consisting essentially of a cylinder armed with spikes revolving within a spiked casing, for opening and cleaning cotton or other fiber.
any of numerous salicaceous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix, such as the weeping willow and osiers of N temperate regions, which have graceful flexible branches, flowers in catkins, and feathery seeds
the whitish wood of certain of these trees
something made of willow wood, such as a cricket or baseball bat
a machine having a system of revolving spikes for opening and cleaning raw textile fibres
First recorded before 900; Middle English wilwe, variant of wilghe, Old English welig; cognate with Old Saxon wilgia, Dutch wilg, Low German wilge
A willow is a tree with long, flexible branches and very small leaves. If you're looking for a picnic spot, the wide, green canopy of a willow provides great shade on a hot summer day. Most willow trees grow near water or in damp locations, as their roots soak up great quantities of moisture and can be used to protect the banks of rivers and streams from erosion. Willow branches are also commonly woven together to make baskets. A "weeping willow" has distinctive, graceful branches that curve down toward the ground.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She said the group was always on the lookout for new arrivals and had already recorded the willow emerald damselfly, the southern oak bush cricket and the purple emperor butterfly, as more species travelled north.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
"The conservation volunteers have been preparing the site by creating ponds and planting willow," Thallon said.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The infested willow plants were sold in 15 counties, mostly across Southern and Central California between June 24 and July 3.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
They also note that many of the willow plots compared between 2001 and 2020 were not the same locations.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026
A large willow tree hung over the water, dipping the tips of its branches in the current.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
The good news, Parsons said, is the foundation he and majority owners Bob Iger and Willow Bay have built is the firmest in the team’s short, dysfunctional history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
He and his wife, Willow Bay, purchased a controlling interest in the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC in 2024.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Ken Marshall, from Wakefield, has owned his boat Willow for about eight years.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Willow, Xander and the rest of the Sunnydale Scoobies discover in the show’s sixth season, the world starts to crumble around them.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
Viola was singing “The Willow Bends Her Boughs for Me” as she stoked the kitchen stove.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
She has planted meadows, willows, hedgerows, tussocky grasses and late-flowering crops to give insects food through the summer.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Among them, the height to volume model was applied to heavily browsed willows with unusual growth forms, even though the model was not designed for such distorted shapes.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026
He previously lived for years in San Diego County, where he ran along waterways teeming with birds among reeds, willows and sycamores.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026
The vast Grand Palais exhibition space in central Paris was transformed into an enchanted forest populated by giant mushrooms and pink weeping willows as stars from Nicole Kidman to Dua Lipa looked on.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
‘He will let no man handle him. There he goes, away down by the ford, like a shadow among the willows.’
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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.
