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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


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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

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

When we break to eat, Taryn and I climb up a tree to eat cheese and oatcakes slathered with chokecherry jelly.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

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

Wearing a black T-shirt, his long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, Sherman boiled chokecherries until the pits sank to the bottom of the pot and could be easily removed.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2016

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

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

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