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Joshua tree

American

noun

an evergreen tree, Yucca brevifolia, growing in arid or desert regions of the southwestern U.S., having long, twisted branches.

Joshua tree British

noun

a treelike desert yucca plant, Yucca brevifolia, of the southwestern US, with sword-shaped leaves and greenish-white flowers

"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

Etymology

Origin of Joshua tree

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Joshua tree

Behind him, a mature Joshua tree was dying, its graying limbs drooping sadly.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

Research suggests these connections can play a crucial role in helping Joshua tree seedlings make it through their perilous early years and reach maturity.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity, which petitioned to list the Joshua tree under the California Endangered Species Act, said a hands-off approach generally would not bode well for the iconic trees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025

Explorer John C. Frémont’s 1844 description of the Joshua tree as “the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom” was just the beginning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025

Not much grew around Midland other than the Joshua tree, cacti, and the scrubby little creosote bushes that Dad said were some of the oldest plants on the planet.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023