palo santo
Americannoun
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a South American tree, Bulnesia sarmienti, of the caltrop family, yielding a fragrant essential oil.
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a tropical American tree, Triplaris americana, of the buckwheat family, having large leaves and showy red female flowers.
Etymology
Origin of palo santo
From Latin American Spanish: literally, “holy wood”
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.
To make my own, I alchemized a potpourri of sandalwood, hinoki wood, palo santo, mint, patchouli and tachibana orange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
I think that’s the first place I ever smelled palo santo being burned, and I was like, “I’m going to buy that!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2025
This pretty kit contains mountain sage, frankincense, myrrh and white copal resin; a Selenite stick; crystals and a palo santo stick for smudging.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
Look for surprising touches, such as drinks served with swirls of aromatic palo santo wood smoke, or arriving in clay pots.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 4, 2022
Each morning for the next two months, she played with the air currents high above her rocky little island, then streaked to her palo santo on Espanola Island.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
