western red cedar

American  

noun

1. an arborvitae, Thuja plicata, of western North America, grown as an ornamental.

2. the soft, fragrant, reddish wood of this tree, used in the construction of houses, in shipbuilding, for making boxes, etc.

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western red cedar British  

noun

1. a large North American arbor vitae, Thuja plicata, found along and near the Pacific coast

2. the wood of this tree, used by North American Indians for building and for carving totem poles

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Etymology

Origin of western red cedar

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

The remainder were sugar pine, noble fir, red fir, incense cedar, western red cedar, mountain hemlock and western hemlock.

From Science Daily

The PropagationNation website also recommends planting redwoods in areas where native western red cedar, western hemlock, Sitka spruce and big leaf maple already grow.

From Seattle Times

Buhl and colleagues found a similar pattern with western red cedar.

From Seattle Times

Beneath a standing canopy of western red cedar on a shady knoll near the entrance to the property, the Renaissance Garden references the tribe’s relatively brief history with the lumber mill in Port Gamble.

From Seattle Times

From a cultural point of view, western red cedar became far more widespread and abundant than previously.

From Seattle Times