elm
Americannoun
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elms
plural
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any tree of the genus Ulmus, as U. procera English elm, characterized by the gradually spreading columnar manner of growth of its branches.
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the wood of such a tree.
noun
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any ulmaceous tree of the genus Ulmus, occurring in the N hemisphere, having serrated leaves and winged fruits (samaras): cultivated for shade, ornament, and timber
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the hard heavy wood of this tree
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of elm
before 1000; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old High German elm; akin to Old Norse almr, Latin ulmus
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.
See Examples For:
To better understand its ecological effects, Jusino and her colleagues studied dead elm trees both with and without golden oyster mushrooms.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2026
Their findings show that temperate woodland species, including oak, elm, and hazel, were present much earlier than suggested by pollen records from Britain.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2026
The Friends of the Quantocks has now planted more than 400 elm trees, the white-letter hairstreak's natural habitat, in a bid to boost their numbers.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
And when things feel hopeless, we step outside our door and watch the golden light stream through our old California elm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
I made my way over to where the hill started its incline, dotted with low shrubs and a thin veil of elm trees.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
However, he added the group found about 100 elm trees in the Quantocks and has planted 430 more disease resistant elms across 38 plots of land.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
Skyscrapers are something like the opposite of Manhattan’s elms: They cast the most shade at the coolest hours of the day and year.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2025
The three at 350 S. Grand Ave. were Chinese elms, while the others nearby were ficus trees, Valenzuela said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2025
She steered Abe into the large, airy front room, with its 12-foot ceilings and six windows overlooking the bright yellow elms and orange oaks of Central Park and the shadowed East Side skyline beyond.
From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2023
The elms are still dying, and so are the birds.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
