gum tree

noun

any tree that exudes gum, as a eucalyptus, the sour gum, or the sweet gum.
any of various other gum-yielding trees, as the sapodilla.

Origin of gum tree

An Americanism dating back to 1670–80

Words Nearby gum tree

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gum tree in a sentence

We came upon buffalo tracks near a large water-hole, and here we each climbed a gum-tree and awaited the arrival of our prey.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont | Louis de Rougemont
All the other men at the same time tap it with twigs of a particular gum tree, chanting the while.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, July 1899 | Various
The gum-tree is highly combustible, and it is a common practice with them to kindle their fires at the root of one of these trees.
The Voyage Of Governor Phillip To Botany Bay | Arthur Phillip
The polygonum still prevailed upon them in places, and the blue-gum tree alone occupied their outskirts.
Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete | Charles Sturt
The gum tree proved to be a sapling of no great promise or pretensions.
Tiny Luttrell | Ernest William Hornung

British Dictionary definitions for gumtree

gumtree

/ (ˈɡʌmˌtriː) /

noun

any of various trees that yield gum, such as the eucalyptus, sweet gum, and sour gum: Sometimes shortened to: gum
Also called: gumwood the wood of the eucalyptus tree

up a gumtree informal in a very awkward position; in difficulties

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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