dogwood

American  

[dawg-wood, dog-] / ˈdɔgˌwʊd, ˈdɒg- /

noun

• dogwoods
  plural

1. any tree or shrub of the genus Cornus, especially C. sanguinea, of Europe, or C. florida, of America.

2. the wood of any such tree.

3. a light to medium brown or a medium yellowish-brown color.

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adjective

1. having the color dogwood.

dogwood British  

/ ˈdɒɡˌwʊd /

noun

1. any of various cornaceous trees or shrubs of the genus Cornus , esp C. sanguinea, a European shrub with clusters of small white flowers and black berries: the shoots are red in winter

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dogwoods
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dogwood

First recorded in 1610–20; dog + wood ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dogwood dogwoods

Sentinels stand on the plot’s four corners: kousa dogwood, favored for its red accents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

The football is where you left it at the end of last year’s Thanksgiving Family Touch Football Game, which is stuck at the top of your neighbor’s dogwood tree.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025

A Pacific Northwest forest planted with Douglas fir, cedar, hemlock and larch underplanted with evergreen huckleberry, salal and ferns transitions to an open woodland of native dogwood trees, red twig dogwood and flowering red currant.

From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2024

Hineline argued that writing down seasonal milestones can reduce the oppressive feeling of unease you get when you see the dogwood trees putting out flowers before Easter.

From Slate ● Mar. 24, 2024

Towering cypress, cottonwood, and elm trees rim the pasture, hovering over clumps of dogwood trees, which, come summer, will bloom white, pink, and red.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Baker notes that the lineage that led to blueberries, for instance, is the result of an ancient hybridization between dogwoods and the ancestors of coffee plants, daisies, and mints.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 23, 2024

In Moran’s leafy northwest Washington neighborhood, a profusion of rainbow flags and Pride Month bunting blossomed from windows and storefronts, as bright and cheery as the brilliant dogwoods and lustrous azalea bushes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2023

The anthocyanin pigments that we perceive as red and purple in dogwoods, sumacs or red oaks, however, weren’t hiding.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 2, 2022

Spring on the parkway brings the pink flowers of redbud trees and the paper-white flowers of dogwoods.

From New York Times ● Nov. 1, 2022

In the spring the aromatic scent of wild flowers, redbuds, papaws, and dogwoods, drifting on the wind currents, spread over the valley and around our home.

From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls

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