mahogany

American  

[muh-hog-uh-nee] / məˈhɒg ə ni /

noun

• mahoganies
  plural

1. any of several tropical American trees of the genus Swietenia, especially S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla, yielding hard, reddish-brown wood used for making furniture.

2. the wood itself.

3. any of various similar trees or their wood.

4. a reddish-brown color.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or made of mahogany.

2. of the color mahogany.

mahogany British  

/ məˈhɒɡənɪ /

noun

1. any of various tropical American trees of the meliaceous genus Swietenia, esp S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla, valued for their hard reddish-brown wood

2. any of several trees with similar wood, such as African mahogany (genus Khaya ) and Philippine mahogany (genus Shorea )

3. 1. the wood of any of these trees See also acajou

   2. ( as modifier )

      a mahogany table

4. 1. a reddish-brown colour

   2. ( as modifier )

      mahogany skin

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mahoganies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mahogany

First recorded in 1665–75; perhaps < some non-Carib language of the West Indies

Explanation

Mahogany is a dark, reddish-brown wood that comes from a tree also called a mahogany. You can also use this word for the color itself. A fancy dining room table might be made of mahogany. If your best friend has rich brown hair with red highlights, feel free to compliment her on her mahogany locks. This color's name comes from mahogany timber, sturdy wood that's used to make high-end furniture, boats, and musical instruments, including guitars. The mahogany tree only grows in tropical regions, including parts of South America, Florida, and the West Indies. The word comes from the Spanish mahogani.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mahogany mahoganies

Referencing original black-and-white photos, Jackson designed a massive 120-foot-long set, complete with a stage, seating, bleachers and mahogany flooring, to be filled with up to 500 extras.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

He is not sitting at a workbench but at a mahogany table polished to a fare-thee-well and reflecting the sitter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

The guitar, a mahogany Gibson SG, was one Iommi said he had owned for a while and used at home.

From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025

“She recognized the quality of things. I was about to auction my mahogany Chippendale chairs, and I kept thinking, ‘Gee, they’re so beautiful,’” Lucci said.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 5, 2025

He was the same shiny mahogany color as his half-formed creatures.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Some intense blooms tint the ocean in swirling blues, mahoganies or “red tides” visible from space—psychedelic watercolors of microscopic life on a macroscale.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 24, 2022

In the hardest-hit areas, 60% of the hardwood trees are gone, including huge mahoganies, and many of the rare Puerto Rican parrots have disappeared.

From Time Magazine Archive

To make up for the dearth of propane gas and kerosene, peasants have slashed away at trees, even mangoes, windbreaks and the mahoganies that shade the coffee crop.

From Time Magazine Archive

The furniture crafted from the grand mahoganies is said to glow and "smile" at the beholder.

From Time Magazine Archive

The cane-fields are broad sheets of beautiful gold-green; and nearly as bright are the masses of pomme-cannelle frondescence, the groves of lemon and orange; while tamarind and mahoganies are heavily sombre.

From Two Years in the French West Indies by Lafcadio Hearn