shrub

¹ American  

[shruhb] / ʃrʌb /

noun

1. a woody plant smaller than a tree, usually having multiple permanent stems branching from or near the ground.

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shrub ² American  

[shruhb] / ʃrʌb /

noun

1. any of various acidulated beverages made from the juice of fruit, sugar, and other ingredients, often including alcohol.

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shrub ¹ British  

/ ʃrʌb /

noun

1. a mixed drink of rum, fruit juice, sugar, and spice

2. mixed fruit juice, sugar, and spice made commercially to be mixed with rum or other spirits

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shrub ² British  

/ ʃrʌb /

noun

1. a woody perennial plant, smaller than a tree, with several major branches arising from near the base of the main stem

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shrub Scientific  

/ shrŭb /

1. A woody plant that is smaller than a tree, usually having several stems rather than a single trunk; a bush.

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Other Word Forms

• shrubless adjective
• shrublike adjective

Etymology

Origin of shrub¹

before 1000; Middle English shrubbe, Old English scrybb brushwood; cognate with dialectal Danish skrub

Origin of shrub¹

1740–50; < Arabic, metathetic variant of shurb drink; sherbet

Example Sentences

The disputes have mainly centered around what to do about trees and other living vegetation, like shrubs and grass.

From Los Angeles Times

Aunt Kitty and I ducked behind the nearest shrub to escape his notice, and he passed us by, oblivious to our presence.

From Literature

From a small pouch on his hip, he threw around half a dozen small birds into the air before sprinting deeper into the shrubs.

From BBC

Their findings show that early farming communities carefully painted flowers, shrubs, branches, and trees, arranging them in ways that reflect deliberate geometric structure and numerical order.

From Science Daily

The controversy around the draft regulations center around the proposal to remove virtually all healthy vegetation, including shrubs and grasses, from the zone.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• foliage
• hedge
• shrubbery
• thicket
• topiary
• tree