maple
Americannoun
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any of numerous trees or shrubs of the genus Acer, species of which are grown as shade or ornamental trees, for timber, or for sap.
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the wood of any such tree.
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the flavor of maple syrup or maple sugar.
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Bowling Slang. pin.
noun
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any tree or shrub of the N temperate genus Acer, having winged seeds borne in pairs and lobed leaves: family Aceraceae
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the hard close-grained wood of any of these trees, used for furniture and flooring
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the flavour of the sap of the sugar maple
Other Word Forms
- maplelike adjective
Etymology
Origin of maple
before 900; Middle English mapel, Old English mapul-, in mapultrēow, mapulder maple tree, cognate with Old Saxon mapulder
Vocabulary lists containing maple
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.
He grew potatoes, kept bees, made maple syrup and taught school three months each year.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
During a call with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the astronauts said they shared maple cream cookies while passing the far side of the moon, a nod to astronaut Jeremy Hansen’s home country.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
We humans eat seven fishes on Christmas Eve, samosas on Eid al-Fitr and maple cookies behind the moon.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
The Canadian will also be taking maple syrup and maple cookies on his lunar voyage.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
Well, when the maple sap came to the hole in the tree, it ran out of the tree, down the little trough and into the bucket.”
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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.
