Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

chokecherry

American  
[chohk-cher-ee] / ˈtʃoʊkˌtʃɛr i /

noun

Chiefly Northern U.S.
  • chokecherries
    plural
  1. any of several cherries, especially Prunus virginiana, of North America, that bear an astringent fruit.

  2. the fruit itself.


chokecherry British  
/ ˈtʃəʊkˌtʃɛrɪ /

noun

  1. any of several North American species of cherry, esp Prunus virginiana, having very astringent dark red or black fruit

  2. the fruit of any of these trees

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of chokecherry

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; choke + cherry


Compare meaning

How does chokecherry compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:


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.

See Examples For:

But it’s important to try, he said, ticking off the reasons: Without restoration and resilience work, this piece of forest will likely convert to shrubland dominated by manzanita, whitethorn and chokecherry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2023

But with a group of our size, bears could hear us from miles away, and there was no chance of surprising a grizzly in the midst of a chokecherry feast.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2021

Many look for nectar on dandelion, rabbitbrush, Canada thistle, osier dogwood and chokecherry.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 27, 2021

“We’ve mainly just gone to windbreaks for building sites,” Brooks said as he watched red cedar and ponderosa pine trees, and chokecherry shrubs being planted at such a site southwest of Kearney this week.

From Washington Times ● May 21, 2017

I reached the chokecherry and dropped my tools.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Many of his neighbors did not grow up eating the Indigenous vegetation or the heritage dishes traditionally made from it, like wojapi, a stewed-fruit pudding made with late-summer chokecherries, or venison stew with timpsila.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2023

The bloom is followed by a wave of fruition: blueberries, orange umbels of mountain ash, elderberries, chokecherries, and pine nuts.

From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2019

On the top, he sprinkled toasted sunflower, pumpkin and squash seeds, and a berry sauce called wojapi, made from fruits like chokecherries, which Sherman had been picking every summer since he was a boy.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2016

“We’re a small but tightly knit community,” said Mr. Sherman, as the chokecherries swelled and fell away from their pits.

From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2016

For a while chokecherries were thick on the trees along the lumber roads that had been a mist of white blooms earlier.

From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training