manzanita
Americannoun
-
any of several western North American shrubs or small trees belonging to the genus Arctostaphylos, of the heath family, having leathery leaves and clusters of white to pink flowers.
-
the fruit of one of these shrubs.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of manzanita
1840–50, < Spanish, diminutive of manzana apple; see manchineel
Compare meaning
How does manzanita compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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:
Hikers can see California buckwheat, arroyo willow, black sage, big berry manzanita and hairy ceanothus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
Deer have browsed seedlings of manzanita and island scrub oak — a Channel Islands endemic — into oblivion in some places, according to conservancy scientists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
On the slopes, manzanita bushes and blades of grass were poking through patches of what little snow had landed.
From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
Roomy garden placement, say at 11 and 3, ensures that the two specimen performers, the manzanita and the giant feather grass, won’t upstage one another.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 7, 2023
In the afternoon heat they snooze in the dusty dirt beneath that tangle of manzanita trees.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
![]()
Working with Terremoto’s team, Horvitz planted about 100 native plants, including elderberry, sage, brittlebrush and manzanitas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2025
For instance, Odell loved the manzanitas that grow prolifically around his family’s 40-acre ranch in Shasta County.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2024
Bohl and her husband removed the lawn and laid 2 inches of river rock approximately 3/4 to 1-inch wide, planting with agaves, manzanitas and yuccas.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
Redwoods, madrones and manzanitas will be replanted, Mr. Rivail said, but not eucalyptuses, which he called “tinder boxes with oils.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2021
Arriving at the end of the avenue, and within a short distance of the dwelling, they stop for a final consultation, still under cover of the manzanitas.
From The Flag of Distress A Story of the South Sea by Reid, Mayne
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.