beech

American  

[beech] / bitʃ /

noun

• beeches
  plural

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

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

3. any member of the beech family (Fagaceae).

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beech British  

/ biːtʃ /

noun

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

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

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

4. See copper beech

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• beechen
  adjective
• beechy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beeches
  plural

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Etymology

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 )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beech beeches

Small amounts of fir and beech were also present.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

The texture of the Pooh stories then grew organically from the surrounding beech woods and the bridge over the Poohsticks stream.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

Across the river on a span built by Romans and following the path through firs and beech, we soon reach a bend where the Irati turns back south.

From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025

Attacks by bears tend to surge in autumn before bears hibernate, with experts saying low yields of beech nuts because of climate change could be driving hungry animals into residential areas.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2025

He thought of the beech leaves rustling above the far-off Honeycomb, and sighed.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

Multiple trees, including three of the famous Dark Hedges beeches, were damaged in the storm leaving some roads impassable.

From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2024

Mr. Cojocaru had grown up in Nucsoara, but only as he walked the hills and ancient pastures did he notice the trees: beeches, phantasmagorically gnarled giants, some as old as 500 years.

From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2024

Here’s what we do know, as researchers at Carnegie Museum of Natural History laid out in a paper published earlier this year: The most common deciduous offenders are oaks and beeches.

From Slate ● Dec. 5, 2023

The bark of certain trees looks stunning in winter, including paperbark maples, birches, beeches, magnolias and stewartias.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 19, 2019

Although leaves remained on the beeches and the sunshine was warm, there was a sense of growing emptiness over the wide space of the down.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

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