mistletoe

American  

[mis-uhl-toh] / ˈmɪs əlˌtoʊ /

noun

• mistletoes
  plural

1. a European plant, Viscum album, having yellowish flowers and white berries, growing parasitically on various trees, used in Christmas decorations.

2. any of several other related, similar plants, as Phoradendron serotinum, of the U.S.: the state flower of Oklahoma.

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mistletoe British  

/ ˈmɪsəlˌtəʊ /

noun

1. a Eurasian evergreen shrub, Viscum album, with leathery leaves, yellowish flowers, and waxy white berries: grows as a partial parasite on various trees: used as a Christmas decoration: family Viscaceae

2. any of several similar and related American plants in the families Loranthaceae or Viscaceae , esp Phoradendron flavescens

3. an epiphytic cactus, Rhipsalis cassytha, that grows in tropical America

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mistletoes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of mistletoe

before 1000; Middle English mistelto, apparently back formation from Old English misteltān ( mistel mistletoe, basil + tān twig), the -n being taken as plural ending; cognate with Old Norse mistilteinn

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mistletoe mistletoes

They targeted mistletoe, musical intros that go “1, 2, 3, 4!” and in Chinese Trends, orange chicken.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2025

While it might be a little silly, there’s a real potency to seeing all of those pairs smooching for a few seconds under a giant sprig of mistletoe.

From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2025

By December, she’s hanging mistletoe and sipping mulled wine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

Martin Talbot, CEO of the Official Charts, said the Christmas number one race was "as important to the festive season as Christmas trees, mistletoe and mulled wine".

From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2023

She did her best to square her shoulders and grip the mistletoe in her fist as she paced away from the path.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Lectins and phoratoxins — two chemicals found in mistletoes — can “affect the heart, causing low blood pressure and slowed heart rate,” the FDA says.

From Fox News ● Dec. 11, 2018

"If I had my way there'd be mistletoes every day," sings Lane as a tom-tom beat echoes behind her and a pedal steel guitar moans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2014

This airborne parasitism is so successful that mistletoes are thought to have evolved it five separate times on their own.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 21, 2012

The most common of the higher parasitic plants damaging timber trees are mistletoes.

From The Mechanical Properties of Wood Including a Discussion of the Factors Affecting the Mechanical Properties, and Methods of Timber Testing by Samuel J. Record

But several seedling mistletoes growing close together on the same branch may more truly be said to struggle with each other.

From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Robert Ezra Park

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