any shrub or tree belonging to the genus Alnus, of the birch family, growing in moist places in northern temperate or colder regions and having toothed, simple leaves and flowers in catkins.
any of various trees or shrubs resembling an alder.
any N temperate betulaceous shrub or tree of the genus Alnus, having toothed leaves and conelike fruits. The bark is used in dyeing and tanning and the wood for bridges, etc because it resists underwater rot
any of several similar trees or shrubs
before 900; Middle English alder, aller, Old English alor, al ( e ) r; cognate with Old Norse ǫlr, Middle Low German al ( l ) er < Germanic *álusṓ; akin to Middle High German alze < Germanic *alū́sō, Old High German elira, erila ( German Erle ) < Germanic *álisṓ, Middle Low German els ( e ) < Germanic *alísō, hence Germanic *álus, alísō; compare Polish olcha, Russian olʾkhá < Indo-European dialect *alisā; Lithuanian al̃ksnis, Latin alnus < Indo-European dialect *alsnos
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John Martin who is the director of the Woodland Trust in Northern Ireland said temperate rainforests are "usually characterised by native tree species such as oak, birch, alder and hazel".
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Researchers also studied a larger alder fragment with grooves carved into its surface.
From Science Daily • May 24, 2026
They look for hardy alder trees, which indicate an area that had been dug up for mining years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 8, 2025
The spacious kitchen is also accented with rich hardwood flooring, stone design elements, solid alder doors, and dual-pane windows.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 15, 2025
She followed its retreating path with the point of an alder stick; its two feet of length disappeared.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
