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 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 ² 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 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 shrub²

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

Example Sentences

One was the use of fire, which burned trees and shrubs.

From Science Daily

I loosely tie the orange handles together, run outside, and hide the bag in Aunt Melissa’s shrubs.

From Literature

As he neared the approach to the bridge, the trees gave way to low shrubs.

From Literature

He went back in the direction they’d come from, parting the reeds and shrubs.

From Literature

There were shrubs clinging to the surface, and birds perched on occasional outcrops—crows, a nest of sand martins, and a flock of four silver-gray hawklike birds Christopher had never seen before.

From Literature

Related Words

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