arbor

[ ahr-ber ]

See synonyms for arbor on Thesaurus.com

noun

a leafy, shady recess formed by tree branches, shrubs, etc.
a latticework bower intertwined with climbing vines and flowers.

Obsolete. a grass plot; lawn; garden; orchard.

Origin of arbor

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (h)erber, erba(i)re, arbere “(flower) garden, pleasure garden, herb garden,” Anglo-French (h)erber, Old French (h)erbier “grassy place, herb garden”; respelling with -or under the influence of arbor³

Also especially British, ar·bour .

Words Nearby arbor

Other definitions for arbor (2 of 3)

arbor²

[ ahr-ber ]

noun

Machinery.
- a bar, shaft, or axis that holds, turns, or supports a rotating cutting tool or grinding wheel, often having a tapered shank fitting tightly into the spindle of a machine tool.: Compare mandrel.
- a beam, shaft, axle, or spindle.
Metallurgy. a reinforcing member of a core or mold.

Origin of arbor

First recorded in 1650–60; from French, arbre “tree, axis,” from Latin arbor “tree, mast, (spear) shaft, oar”; respelling of earlier arber, arbre by association with arbor³

Other definitions for arbor (3 of 3)

arbor³

[ ahr-ber ]

noun,plural ar·bo·res

[ahr-buh-reez]. /ˈɑr bəˌriz/. Botany.

a tree.

Origin of arbor

First recorded in 1660–70; from New Latin, Latin; see also arbor²

Other words from arbor

ar·bo·resque, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use arbor in a sentence

arbor House wants to buy the next two Leonard novels for $3 million.
Elmore Leonard’s Rocky Road to Fame and Fortune | Mike Lupica | September 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
arbor House, which is where he wanted to go anyway, buys the ten-year-old book for more than $300,000.
Elmore Leonard’s Rocky Road to Fame and Fortune | Mike Lupica | September 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
arbor House is paying Leonard $3 million for Freaky Deaky, the one in the typewriter now, and the one after it.
Elmore Leonard’s Rocky Road to Fame and Fortune | Mike Lupica | September 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The 21-year-old, who studied at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business in Ann arbor, Michigan, had suffered an epileptic seizure.
JP Morgan Executive Falls to his Death from JP Morgan Building, in What May Have Been Suicide | Nico Hines | January 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In 2013, Erhardt studied at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business in Ann arbor, Michigan.
Did Bank of America Merrill Lynch Intern Moritz Erhardt Die of Stress? | Tom Sykes | November 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

The outer end of the mainspring is attached to the rim of the barrel, and the inner end to the barrel arbor.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge | Various
On the circumference of the barrel are gear teeth, and those teeth engage corresponding teeth on the arbor of the center.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge | Various
These arbor teeth are in all cases called, not “wheels” but “pinions,” and in watch trains the wheels always drive the pinions.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge | Various
When that wheel turns to the right, as it must, it will force back the arm of the pallet which swings on its arbor.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge | Various
The studio had disappeared under the verdant arbor, while a wonderful spangled tree rose like a fairy dream, in one corner.
The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for arbor (1 of 2)

arbor¹

/ (ˈɑːbə) /

noun

the US spelling of arbour

British Dictionary definitions for arbor (2 of 2)

arbor²

/ (ˈɑːbə) /

noun

a rotating shaft in a machine or power tool on which a milling cutter or grinding wheel is fitted
a rotating shaft or mandrel on which a workpiece is fitted for machining

metallurgy a part, piece, or structure used to reinforce the core of a mould

Origin of arbor

C17: from Latin: tree, mast

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

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