sequoia
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of sequoia
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; named after Sequoya
Explanation
A sequoia is an ancient, towering redwood tree that grows on the coast of northern California and southern Oregon. Sequoias are the largest trees on Earth. Before commercial logging destroyed many of them, giant sequoias covered the entire coast of California, filling about two million acres of forest. The remaining trees are among the very oldest things on our planet; some are more than 2,000 years old. Sequoias are massive evergreens, the largest of which is as tall as a 30-story building. The sequoia was named after the Cherokee man, Sequoya, who invented a written form of the Cherokee language in the 1820s.
Vocabulary lists containing sequoia
Scrabble: Words with 5 Vowels
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 24–March 1, 2024
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Two Degrees
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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.
That contrast gave researchers a rare opportunity to measure how previous prescribed burns affected giant sequoia survival during extreme wildfires.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
The findings provide strong evidence that prescribed burning can help protect sequoia groves by reducing the amount of fuel available when a major wildfire arrives.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
“In a mature giant sequoia grove, like what we’ve been hiking through, on average you’ve got two to three large sequoias per acre and very little regeneration,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
Firefighters hold the line in the Sierra, protecting communities and a giant sequoia grove amid a day of ‘dynamic fire activity’ from the Garnet fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2025
The Morris Fire’s flames were so big, so intense, that they could reach the top of a giant sequoia tree, two hundred and fifty feet in the air.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
