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American chestnut

American  
[uh-mer-i-kuhn chest-nuht, chest-nuht] / əˈmɛr ɪ kən ˈtʃɛstˌnʌt, ˈtʃɛst nət /

noun

  1. chestnut1


Etymology

Origin of American chestnut

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Whether chronicling the tragic history of the American chestnut, or the anger of contemporary activists confronting climate change, Powers’ concentric plots spin.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025

Its hybrids are about 15/16ths American chestnut and 1/16th Chinese chestnut.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2023

“We called them gray ghosts,” the now 77-year-old retired forester says of the American chestnut tree scattered throughout his former North Carolina home and still towering over the forest floors.

From National Geographic • Apr. 28, 2023

A forester at the Bronx Zoo was the first to sound the alarm when he noticed a dead American chestnut tree in the middle of summer.

From Scientific American • Jan. 26, 2023

The Jaaxes’ house was the largest Victorian house in town, a pile of turreted brick with a slate roof and tall windows and a cupola and wooden paneling made of golden American chestnut.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

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