definitions

shrub

1
[ shruhb ]
/ ʃrʌb /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shrub ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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RELATED WORDS

hedge, fern, shrubbery, tree, foliage, thicket, topiary, plant, bush, brier, boscage, bosket

Nearby words

shrove, shrove monday, shrove sunday, shrove tuesday, shrovetide, shrub, shrub layer, shrubbery, shrubby, shrubby cinquefoil, shrug

Origin of shrub

1
before 1000; Middle English shrubbe, Old English scrybb brushwood; cognate with dialectal Danish skrub
Related formsshrub·less, adjectiveshrub·like, adjective

Definition for shrub (2 of 2)

shrub

2
[ shruhb ]
/ ʃrʌb /

noun

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

Origin of shrub

2
1740–50; < Arabic, metathetic variant of shurb drink; see sherbet
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shrub

British Dictionary definitions for shrub (1 of 2)

shrub

1
/ (ʃrʌb) /

noun

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

Word Origin for shrub

Old English scrybb; related to Middle Low German schrubben coarse, uneven, Old Swedish skrubba to scrub 1

British Dictionary definitions for shrub (2 of 2)

shrub

2
/ (ʃrʌb) /

noun

a mixed drink of rum, fruit juice, sugar, and spice
mixed fruit juice, sugar, and spice made commercially to be mixed with rum or other spirits

Word Origin for shrub

C18: from Arabic sharāb, variant of shurb drink; see sherbet
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

Word Origin and History for shrub

shrub

n.

Old English scrybb "brushwood, shrubbery," a rare and late word (but preserved also, perhaps, in Shrewsbury), possibly from a Scandinavian source (cf. dialectal Danish skrub "brushwood," Norwegian skrubba "dwarf tree"). Presumably related to North Frisian skrobb "broom plant, brushwood;" West Flemish schrobbe "climbing wild pea," with a base notion of "rough plant," from PIE *(s)kerb-, extended form of root *(s)ker- (1) "to cut" (see shear (v.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Science definitions for shrub

shrub

[ shrŭb ]

A woody plant that is smaller than a tree, usually having several stems rather than a single trunk; a bush.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.