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Joshua tree

American

noun

an evergreen tree, Yucca brevifolia, growing in arid or desert regions of the southwestern U.S., having long, twisted branches.

Joshua tree British

noun

a treelike desert yucca plant, Yucca brevifolia, of the southwestern US, with sword-shaped leaves and greenish-white flowers

"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

Etymology

Origin of Joshua tree

First recorded in 1895–1900

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.

See Examples For:

Joshua tree

Walking to the recently burned area, Cummings pointed to a young Joshua tree choked with dry grass.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025

Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity, which petitioned to list the Joshua tree under the California Endangered Species Act, said a hands-off approach generally would not bode well for the iconic trees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025

Large-scale renewable energy projects and human sprawl have eaten away at Joshua tree forests.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2025

The department has interpreted the law to require property owners to get take permits for ground-disturbing work that’s performed within a certain distance of a Joshua tree.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2025

While we were in Midland, Mom painted dozens of variations and studies of the Joshua tree.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023