cork oak

American  

[kawrk ohk] / ˈkɔrk ˌoʊk /

noun

1. an evergreen oak tree, Quercus suber, found especially in the western Mediterranean region: commercially significant as the source of cork.

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cork oak British  

noun

1. Also called: cork tree.  an evergreen Mediterranean oak tree, Quercus suber, with a porous outer bark from which cork is obtained

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Etymology

Origin of cork oak

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Death cap mushrooms are known to sprout across the state of California but they thrive in shady, humid or moist environments under live oak and cultivated cork oak trees.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2026

Cork comes from the bark of cork oak trees, which can live for hundreds of years.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2024

However, I must share what fourth-generation woodworker Lou Sarg told me about cork oak, the bark of which is what cork — as in wine and whiskey bottle corks — is made of.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2023

Home to a third of the world’s cork oak forests, Portugal has dreamed up myriad uses for the natural, sustainable material.

From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2018

I expect, in the same season, from the south of France, some acorns of the cork oak, which I propose for your society, as I am persuaded they will succeed with you.

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 2 by Randolph, Thomas Jefferson