oak

American  

[ohk] / oʊk /

noun

• oaks
  plural

1. any tree or shrub belonging to the genus Quercus, of the beech family, bearing the acorn as fruit.

2. the hard, durable wood of an oak tree, used in making furniture and in construction.

3. Archaic. the leaves of an oak tree, especially as worn in a chaplet.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or made of oak.

   an antique oak desk;

   heavy oak doors with double locks.

idioms

1. sport one's oak, (of a university student) to indicate that one is not at home to visitors by closing the outer door of one's lodgings.

oak British  

/ əʊk /

noun

1. any deciduous or evergreen tree or shrub of the fagaceous genus Quercus, having acorns as fruits and lobed leaves See also holm oak cork oak red oak Turkey oak durmast

2. 1. the wood of any of these trees, used esp as building timber and for making furniture

   2. ( as modifier )

      an oak table

3. any of various trees that resemble the oak, such as the poison oak, silky oak, and Jerusalem oak

4. 1. anything made of oak, esp a heavy outer door to a set of rooms in an Oxford or Cambridge college

   2. to shut this door as a sign one does not want visitors

5. the leaves of an oak tree, worn as a garland

6. the dark brownish colour of oak wood

7. any of various species of casuarina, such as desert oak, swamp oak, or she-oak

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• oaklike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• oaks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of oak

First recorded before 900; Middle English ok(e), oc, Old English āc; cognate with Dutch eik, German Eiche, Old Icelandic eik; further origin uncertain

Explanation

An oak is a tree that typically sheds its leaves in the winter and grows acorns as fruit. If you get hit on the head with an acorn, you are probably standing under an oak. There are many species of oaks, a few of which are evergreen, keeping their leaves all year, but most have bright leaves in the fall and are bare for the winter months. An oak table or oak desk is made from the sturdy wood of an oak tree. The strength of oaks has inspired several countries to adopt them as symbols on money and flags, and in 2004 the oak was voted the national tree by the US Congress.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oak oaks

Propellers were being chiseled from oak, which absorbs radar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

With its tar-soaked rigging, creaking oak deck and 50 spruce oars, Draken Harald Harfagre is the largest modern replica of a Viking ship.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

A more than 300-year-old oak was among six sites given new preservation orders in Devon.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

“They’ll come over and they’ll be like, ‘I see the oak tree’s doing well.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

They reached the great oak at whose foot the warrior queen’s stone showed where she had been laid to rest.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

The lifespan of England’s quintessential oaks, meanwhile, could dramatically shorten to 100-150 years in hotter weather compared with the current 400 years or more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

They usually nest in cavities that form in large, old trees like oaks.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Suffering most are trees "we really associate with an English garden or an English landscape", she said: oaks, sycamores, birch, limes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

California oaks showed a different seasonal schedule but the same overall pattern.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Valley threw her hands out, and they shuffled back and behind a cluster of tall oaks.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

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