oaken

[ oh-kuhn ]

/ ˈoʊ kən /

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adjective

made of oak: the old oaken bucket.

of or relating to the oak tree.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of oaken

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at oak, -en²

Words nearby oaken

oak apple, Oak-apple Day, Oak Creek, Oakdale, oaked, oaken, oak fern, Oak Forest, oak gall, Oakham, Oak Harbor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use oaken in a sentence

Among the Perpendicular additions to the church last named may be noted a very beautiful oaken rood-screen.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 4|Various
Of the two ladies, one was well advanced in years, but the high-backed oaken chair in which she sat was not more upright than she.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)|Charles Dickens
Frenziedly she caught at the heavy oaken table, and began to drag it across the room as Garnache had begged her.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
The fences are fastened to heavy oaken posts only three feet apart, and these posts are sunk five feet in the ground.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

Four oaken chairs covered with tapestry and placed around a square table were the sole furniture of the parlor.
Catherine de' Medici|Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for oaken

oaken

/ (ˈəʊkən) /

adjective

made of the wood of the oak

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012