defoliate

American  

[dee-foh-lee-eyt, dee-foh-lee-it, -eyt] / diˈfoʊ liˌeɪt, diˈfoʊ li ɪt, -ˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

defoliated, defoliating

1. to strip (a tree, bush, etc.) of leaves.

2. to destroy or cause widespread loss of leaves in (an area of jungle, forest, etc.), as by using chemical sprays or incendiary bombs, in order to deprive enemy troops or guerrilla forces of concealment.

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verb (used without object)

defoliated, defoliating

1. to lose leaves.

adjective

1. (of a tree) having lost its leaves, especially by a natural process.

defoliate British  

verb

1. to deprive (a plant) of its leaves, as by the use of a herbicide, or (of a plant) to shed its leaves

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adjective

1. (of a plant) having shed its leaves

Other Word Forms

• defoliation noun
• defoliator noun
• undefoliated adjective

Etymology

Origin of defoliate

1785–1795; < Medieval Latin dēfoliātus, past participle of dēfoliāre, equivalent to Latin dē- de- + foli ( um ) leaf + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

The arrival of a pesky family of rabbits or lilacs so heavily leaf-spotted by fungal disease that they defoliated in August just don’t feel like legitimate problems against such headlines.

From Seattle Times

As Black notes, however, a great deal of “unfinished business” remains, and he gives one example: Forty-four provinces in Vietnam were defoliated, but “humanitarian aid for dioxin-related disabilities was reaching only eight of them.”

From Washington Post

If tomato hornworms try to defoliate your plants, there’s a wasp for that, too — more than one, in fact.

From Seattle Times

The browntail moth is a scourge in America’s most forested state, where it defoliates trees and causes a rash in humans that resembles poison ivy.

From Seattle Times

The plant in his hands was a Palmer amaranth descendant that had demonstrated resistance to 2,4-D, one of two active ingredients in compounds used to defoliate forests during the Vietnam War.

From New York Times