orchard
Americannoun
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an area of land devoted to the cultivation of fruit or nut trees.
-
a group or collection of such trees.
noun
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an area of land devoted to the cultivation of fruit trees
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a collection of fruit trees especially cultivated
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of orchard
before 900; Middle English orch ( i ) ard, Old English orceard; replacing ortyard, Middle English ortyerd, Old English ortigeard (compare Gothic aurtigards garden), equivalent to ort- (combining form akin to wort 2; later identified with Latin hortus garden) + geard yard 2
Explanation
An orchard is a tree garden. If you visit New England in autumn, make sure to stop by a local apple orchard and pick a few baskets to take home. From the Old English orceard blossomed our modern-day spelling of orchard, a noun meaning “fruit farm.” But you can also use the word figuratively to refer to something filled with treats or precious content. The US Congregational minister, Henry Ward Beecher, was famous for having proclaimed, “A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors.”
Vocabulary lists containing orchard
The Balcony Scene from "Romeo and Juliet"
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"Mending Wall," by Robert Frost
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"Water at Work"
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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.
He feared his business would fall short of generating the income needed to cover the upfront cost of the orchard leases, noting some had abandoned their contracts entirely.
From Barron's • Jun. 21, 2026
Shafer, who started the orchard in 1999, said it’s gotten so popular that he stopped advertising about 15 years ago.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
But according to the New York library, the kangaroo toy that inspired Roo "was lost in an apple orchard during the 1930s".
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
Other impressive features on the grounds include a saltwater pool; vegetable gardens; a wildflower meadow; an orchard of cherry, apple, and peach trees; and a sports court—ideal for Paul’s training.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026
We gallop past the apple orchard and run down the gravel road that spits us out onto the wide meadow along the riverbank.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
