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.
Giant arborvitae trees flank Maude’s Garden on Seattle’s First Hill, muffling the hum of city traffic for this tiny therapeutic oasis.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 22, 2023
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
Sterling horticulturalist Josh Kane has found that deer do, in fact, have preferences, avoiding some evergreens, including the native eastern red cedar and the nonnative arborvitae family.
From Washington Post
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.
