any of several usually spiny trees or shrubs belonging to the genus Prosopis, of the legume family, as P. juliflora or P. glandulosa, of western North America, having bipinnate leaves and beanlike pods and often forming dense thickets.
the wood of such a tree or shrub, used especially in grilling or barbecuing food.
any of various similar or related plants.
1830–40, < Mexican Spanish mezquite < Nahuatl mizquitl
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Birds sing among dense copses of mesquite trees; flowers hang heavily from bushes; ocelots and jaguars pass through.
From Slate ● May 26, 2025
It’s three miles from there to State Route 92, a trek through mesquite and grassland, floodplains and furrows that serve as a rough-hewn pathway to the two-lane blacktop and the interior that lies beyond.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2025
Adding natural smoke flavorings derived from hickory or mesquite can also give alternative meats a similar aroma.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024
La Casa looms above a mostly flat landscape dotted with mesquite bushes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2024
Unthinking, I jerk Belle’s reins, loosely knotted about the mesquite tree.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
The No. 2 company on the list, Hithium, opened a factory last year in Mesquite, Texas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
The 101st Airborne Division said in a statement Thursday that it was offering support to her family, who live in Mesquite, Texas, and urged anyone with information to contact police.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2024
The new General Dynamics facility in Mesquite, Texas, will make 30,000 each month once it reaches its full capacity.
From New York Times ● May 29, 2024
Police identified the driver as Payton Lawrence, 19, of Mesquite.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
If you had known Sylvia and the Mesquite Club, you would laugh at so superfluous a statement.
From Children of the Desert by Dodge, Louis
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.
