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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chokecherries
  plural

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:

• chokecherry vs. chokeberry

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chokecherry chokecherries

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

The sweet aroma of simmering wojape, the Lakota chokecherry dish, time-warps me back to my 6-year-old self.

From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2019

I bustled myself inside, and soon there were four chokecherry pies cooling on the kitchen table—if it were possible to cool in this blamed heat.

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

In late summer, we’d harvest chokecherries and timpsula, a wild prairie turnip, and pick juniper berries off the prickly trees.

From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2019

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

Everybody has a story to tell about the dangers of eating too many chokecherries.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman