Showing results for "acorn"

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Politics dictionary results for acorn.

acorn

American  

[ey-kawrn, ey-kern] / ˈeɪ kɔrn, ˈeɪ kərn /

noun

• acorns
  plural

1. the typically ovoid fruit or nut of an oak, enclosed at the base by a cupule.

2. a finial or knop, as on a piece of furniture, in the form of an acorn.

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acorn British  

/ ˈeɪkɔːn /

noun

1. the fruit of an oak tree, consisting of a smooth thick-walled nut in a woody scaly cuplike base

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• acorned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• acorns
  plural

Etymology

Origin of acorn

before 1000; Middle English acorne (influenced by corn ¹ ), replacing akern, Old English æcern, æcren mast, oak-mast; cognate with Old Norse akarn fruit of wild trees, Middle High German ackeran acorn, Gothic akran fruit, yield < Germanic *akrana-; alleged derivation from base of acre is dubious if original reference was to wild trees

Explanation

The nut, or fruit, that grows on oak trees is called an acorn. Chicken Little thought the sky was falling when an acorn fell on his head. Don't make that same mistake. Acorns are a distinctive nut that's often found on forest floors where oak trees grow. They are smooth and greenish, set in a rough brown base that's shaped like a little cup. The acorn is a seed, able to sprout roots if it falls in the right place, eventually growing into a new oak tree. Many animals eat acorns, some stockpiling the nuts for weeks. In Old English, æcern means "nut," from a Germanic origin.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

acorn acorns

According to scientists, the crisis is being driven by a fast-growing bear population, combined with a falling human population and poor acorn harvest pushing bears to seek food elsewhere.

From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025

Squash-based soups are just as great throughout winter, too, and that encompasses much more than just buttenrut, like kabocha or acorn.

From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2025

Nearby in the Rosemont Pavilion, the “Go Bowling” float loomed along with 16 other fantastical creations: chipmunks sharing an acorn, the Little Tramp dancing with his girl, B.B.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2024

In a peaceful courtyard, a tiny elderly woman stands swirling a batch of home-made acorn jelly, her back hunched from decades of farming.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2024

But in the case of the oak tree, the form and the purpose are in some sense inside the acorn.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

One thing LLMs are great at is rapidly finding little acorns within huge blocks of text.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

Red and fallow deer eat grasses, leaves and shoots of trees, as well as acorns, sweet chestnuts and horse chestnuts.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Which is more interesting: the grand sweep of Russian history or the crunching sound of acorns underfoot?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

A major issue is the expanding bear population, which is growing fast due to an abundance of food -- including acorns, deer and boars -- under the influence of a warming climate, experts say.

From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2025

Passenger pigeons’ diet centered on mast, the collective name for acorns, beechnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, and the like; they also really liked maize.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann