greasewood
Americannoun
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a shrub, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, of the amaranth family, growing in alkaline regions of the western U.S., containing a small amount of oil.
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any of various similar shrubs.
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Western U.S. mesquite.
noun
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Also called: chico. a spiny chenopodiaceous shrub, Sarcobatus vermiculatus of W North America, that yields an oil used as a fuel
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any of various similar or related plants, such as the creosote bush
Etymology
Origin of greasewood
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.
Standing atop its foundations, you will begin to notice rocky outlines through the greasewood and creosote, revealing the outlines of hundreds of structures, including houses, storage tanks and open-air aqueducts, stretching into the distance.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2023
But to the observant, a careful look reveals surprising signs of a new civilization rising among the ocotillos and greasewood.
From Time Magazine Archive
The brilliant colors of sumac, greasewood and wild lilac had long faded to dusty brown, and the chaparral crackled and clacked like desiccated bones in a bowl.
From Time Magazine Archive
By car and plane, buyers hustled to the sun-struck sands and low-lying, spiny, green clumps of greasewood along the shores of 30-mile-long Salton Sea.
From Time Magazine Archive
The plants cover extensive reaches of valley and hill-slopes, and are often called "greasewood."
From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth
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.
