bough

[ bou ]
See synonyms for bough on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a branch of a tree, especially one of the larger or main branches.

Origin of bough

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English bogh, Old English bōg, bōh “shoulder, bough”; cognate with Old Norse bōgr, Dutch boeg, German Bug; akin to Greek pêchys, Sanskrit bāhu

synonym study For bough

See branch.

Other words from bough

  • boughless, adjective
  • un·der·bough, noun

Words that may be confused with bough

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bough in a sentence

  • As Gale and Phyllis lay down on their bed of boughs in the tent with Valerie, a coyote howled dismally in the distance.

  • Therefore they now carried boughs and green branches and palms, for him that had given them good success in cleansing his place.

British Dictionary definitions for bough

bough

/ (baʊ) /


noun
  1. any of the main branches of a tree

Origin of bough

1
Old English bōg arm, twig; related to Old Norse bōgr shoulder, ship's bow, Old High German buog shoulder, Greek pēkhus forearm, Sanskrit bāhu; see bow ³, elbow

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