chokecherry

[chohk-cher-ee]

noun, plural choke·cher·ries. Chiefly Northern U.S.

any of several cherries, especially Prunus virginiana, of North America, that bear an astringent fruit.
the fruit itself.

Origin of chokecherry

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for chokecherry

Historical Examples of chokecherry

There are two species of gooseberry here, but neither of them yet ripe: nor are the chokecherry, though in great quantities.
History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. I.
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
The wild black cherry is the most noxious species, and the chokecherry is not far behind it.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, June 1899
Various
When Thea first came, the chokecherry bushes were in blossom, and the scent of them was almost sickeningly sweet after a shower.
Song of the Lark
Willa Cather
It tore aspens and chokecherry bushes out of the ground and left the yuccas hanging by their tough roots.
Song of the Lark
Willa Cather
Opposite the schoolhouse was a little copse of chokecherry bushes, and we stepped in among them to watch.
A Busy Year at the Old Squire's
Charles Asbury Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for chokecherry

chokecherry

noun plural -ries

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