beech

[ beech ]

/ bitʃ /

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noun

any deciduous tree of the genus Fagus, of temperate regions, having a smooth gray bark and bearing small, edible, triangular nuts.

Also called beechwood. the wood from a beech tree of the genus Fagus, including the commonly cultivated European beech.

any member of the beech family (Fagaceae).

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of beech

First recorded before 900; Middle English beche, Old English bēce, bōce, from Proto-Germanic bōkjōn-; akin to Old Saxon, Middle Low German boke, Dutch beuk, Old High German buohha (German Buche ), Old Norse bōk, Latin fāgus “beech,” Doric Greek phāgós “oak,” Albanian bung “oak” (apparently not akin to book)

OTHER WORDS FROM beech

beech·en, adjectivebeech·y, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH beech

beach, beech

Words nearby beech

Beebe, bee beetle, bee bird, bee block, beebread, beech, Beecham, beechdrops, Beecher, Beecher Stowe, beech family

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

How to use beech in a sentence

Instead, to deliver some guts, the Austrian brand’s designers trusted the damping and stability of its poplar and beech core.
Runners-Up Review: These Powder Skis Almost Made Our 2022 Winter Buyer’s Guide|agintzler|January 9, 2022|Outside Online
Two sheets of titanal back a poplar and beech wood core with most of the denser beech positioned underfoot for added power.
Runners-Up Review: The Frontside Skis That Almost Made Our 2022 Winter Buyer’s Guide|agintzler|December 5, 2021|Outside Online
These relationships are important for the southern beech trees that dominate Patagonia’s forests.
You’ve heard of truffle pigs. Now get ready for truffle birds.|Kate Baggaley|October 29, 2021|Popular-Science
Sleep behavior has been researched in birches and oaks, and beeches can measure day length—all of this requires light receptors that transmit signals to the trees and spur the whole organism into action.
Plants Feel Pain and Might Even See - Issue 104: Harmony|Peter Wohlleben|July 21, 2021|Nautilus

Beech-Nut is still in existence, and is the third largest baby food manufacturer in the United States.
The Flying Sorcery of Dr. Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Marvel's Most Bizarre Magician|Rich Goldstein|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
White King Soap sponsored the show on the West Coast, and Beech-Nut Gum in the East.
The Flying Sorcery of Dr. Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Marvel's Most Bizarre Magician|Rich Goldstein|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With just two small, double engine Beech 18s and a handful of employees, Phoenix was born.
The American Ebola Rescue Plan Hinges on One Company. Meet Phoenix.|Abby Haglage|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There were long brown mountains and a few pines and far-off forests of beech-trees on some of the mountainsides.
Is This Hemingway’s Pamplona or a Lot of Bull?|Clive Irving|July 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Somewhere over the rainbow—specifically atop Beech Mountain in western North Carolina—a yellow brick road leads straight to Oz.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road…to North Carolina|Nina Strochlic|February 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It has been shown by Chevandrier, that an acre of land under beech wood accumulates annually about 1650 lb.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
The emblems on his monument are a branch of beech, a winged A, a wreathed snake and a lamp.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
We had no time to make a dash for the house, so we took shelter under some spreading beech trees at the edge of the woods.
The Red Cow and Her Friends|Peter McArthur
There used to be a tradition that lightning never strikes a beech tree, but that was not our reason for choosing them.
The Red Cow and Her Friends|Peter McArthur
In a little while the high beech-ridge over which she had been travelling ended in a narrow cedar-swamp.
Blazed Trail Stories|Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for beech

beech

/ (biːtʃ) /

noun

any N temperate tree of the genus Fagus, esp F. sylvatica of Europe, having smooth greyish bark: family Fagaceae

any tree of the related genus Nothofagus, of temperate Australasia and South America

the hard wood of any of these trees, used in making furniture, etc

See copper beech

Derived forms of beech

beechen or beechy, adjective

Word Origin for beech

Old English bēce; related to Old Norse bók, Old High German buohha, Middle Dutch boeke, Latin fāgus beech, Greek phēgos edible oak

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