Dictionary.com

sweet bay

noun

laurel (def. 1).
an American magnolia, Magnolia virginiana, having large oblong leaves and fragrant, white flowers, common on the Atlantic coast.

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.
Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.
To stew in a sauce for a long time.
To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of sweet bay

First recorded in 1710–20

Words nearby sweet bay

sweer, sweet, sweet alyssum, sweet-and-sour, sweet basil, sweet bay, sweet birch, sweetbread, sweetbrier, sweet cherry, sweet chestnut
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for sweet bay

  • The wind died away; the odor of cedar and sweet-bay hung heavy in the air.

    In Search of the Unknown|Robert W. Chambers

  • Bay-leaf, the leaf of the sweet-bay or laurel tree (Laurus nobilis).

    The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 3|Various

  • He fidgetted with his sweet-bay twig, considering the aromatic leaves with a troubled and concentrated scowl.

    Quick Action|Robert W. Chambers

  • North and south dunes glimmered; and the hot fragrance of sweet-bay mingled with the mounting savour of the sea.

    The Firing Line|Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for sweet bay

sweet bay

noun

a small tree, Magnolia virginiana, of SE North America, having large fragrant white flowers: family Magnoliaceae (magnolias)Sometimes shortened to: bay
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