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gumbo-limbo

American  
[guhm-boh-lim-boh] / ˈgʌm boʊˈlɪm boʊ /

noun

plural

gumbo-limbos

  1. a tropical American tree, Bursera simaruba, having reddish bark and yielding a sweet, aromatic resin used in varnishes.

Etymology

Origin of gumbo-limbo

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; of uncertain origin

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.

Tucked back on a meandering driveway lined with gnarled gumbo-limbo trees and an elaborate garden, the lodge has grottoes with seating and a small private beach with kayaks for guests.

From Washington Post • Aug. 30, 2018

Saw grass sweeps to the horizon, in a marshy expanse broken by islands of slash pines and gumbo-limbo trees.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 4, 2016

I sat up and saw my bike on the ground, a freshly snapped gumbo-limbo branch sticking out of the front spokes.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

We walked our bikes to the house and propped them against the trunk of a gumbo-limbo.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

We walked our bikes to the house and propped them against the trunk of a gumbo-limbo.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

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.