arborvitae
Americannoun
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any of several ornamental or timber-producing evergreen trees belonging to the genus Thuja, of the cypress family, native to North America and eastern Asia, having a scaly bark and scalelike leaves on branchlets.
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Anatomy. arbor vitae.
Etymology
Origin of arborvitae
1655–65 arborvitae for def. 1; 1790–1800 arborvitae for def. 2; < Latin: tree of life
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.
Tall arborvitae give the sense of being safely enclosed.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 22, 2023
You’ll probably find it on two popular screening plants, Leyland cypress and the arborvitae, especially the ubiquitous variety Green Giant.
From Washington Post • Aug. 3, 2021
The stairs are required for the bridge to clear a single thriving arborvitae evergreen, planted beneath it; the roof spikes seventeen feet for the purpose.
From The New Yorker • Feb. 25, 2019
They were eating her beloved hostas, nibbling the hydrangea and devouring the arborvitae.
From New York Times • Nov. 4, 2016
The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service’s department of plant pathology newsletter for March 28, 2012, includes sad photos of liriodendron and arborvitae branches damaged by egg-laying cicadas.
From Washington Times • Jun. 8, 2015
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.
