Christmas tree
Americannoun
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an evergreen tree decorated at Christmas with ornaments and lights.
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a control board or panel containing a variety of colored lights for indicating the status of various functions, elements, components, etc.
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an elaborate arrangement of pipes, valves, etc., as for controlling the flow of oil or gas.
noun
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an evergreen tree or an imitation of one, decorated as part of Christmas celebrations
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Also called: Christmas bush. any of various trees or shrubs flowering at Christmas and used for decoration
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another name for pohutukawa
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Christmas tree
An Americanism dating back to 1780–90
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.
They organized the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House South Lawn and lit the Christmas tree on the Ellipse, Jarvis said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026
“I don’t want to be mean, but … the Christmas tree is up,” Sugarman continued, looking at the snap.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 20, 2026
On a Christmas tree greeting card, for example, a miniature ballerina ornament had three separate colors, including red lips.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
He argued that the estate tax took away his right to pass his Christmas tree farm to his children.
From Salon • Dec. 28, 2025
The Meecham family prepared for midnight Mass. Mary Anne and Ben, fully dressed, knelt before the Christmas tree rattling presents that bore their names.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.