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annual ring

American  

noun

  1. an annual formation of wood in plants, consisting of two concentric layers, one of springwood and one of summerwood.


annual ring British  

noun

  1. Also called: tree ring.  a ring of wood indicating one year's growth, seen in the transverse section of stems and roots of woody plants growing in temperate climates

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

annual ring Scientific  
  1. See under growth ring


Etymology

Origin of annual ring

First recorded in 1875–80

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.

See Examples For:

“The tree-ring patterns in the cross-sections were visually inspected,” the research paper said, “and then the annual ring widths were measured to the nearest 0.001 mm.”

From New York Times Sep. 7, 2022

Geoghan’s friends said he was known for deflecting praise, asking others to speak at the McDonald’s games’ annual ring ceremony.

From Washington Post Mar. 28, 2022

Each annual ring in the chestnut stump is distinct from its neighboring ring.

From Trees Worth Knowing by Rogers, Julia Ellen

If a section of a single annual ring of green wood of the shape A B C D, in Fig.

From Wood and Forest by Noyes, William

The wood of the year in which this occurs may exhibit a double annual ring, and the vigour of the tree is likely to suffer in the following season and no fruit be matured.

From Disease in Plants by Ward, H. Marshall

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