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

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

A decorated tree and sleigh greeted guests at the entrance to the country house which had holly, ivy, mistletoe and lanterns hung throughout.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2025

Yet the story behind “All I Want for Christmas is You” is not all holly and mistletoe.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 10, 2023

We were pretty well camouflaged in the riverbank scrub—a tangle of willow and alder and poplar full of mistletoe.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

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

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

It’s still Christmas Eve, and there are other mistletoes and other manners.”

From Patty's Success by Carolyn Wells

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