chinaberry

American  

[chahy-nuh-ber-ee] / ˈtʃaɪ nəˌbɛr i /

noun

chinaberries plural

1. a tree, Melia azedarach, of the mahogany family, native to Asia but widely planted elsewhere for its ornamental yellow fruits and long clusters of fragrant purplish flowers.

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chinaberry British  

/ ˈtʃaɪnəbərɪ /

noun

1. Also called: China tree.   azedarach.  a spreading Asian meliaceous tree, Melia azedarach, widely grown in the US for its ornamental white or purple flowers and beadlike yellow fruits

2. another name for soapberry

3. the fruit of any of these trees

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chinaberries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chinaberry

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; China + berry

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chinaberry chinaberries

A bolt struck a tall chinaberry tree at the edge of the field.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021

“It was nothing but scrub trees, chinaberry and hackberry.”

From Washington Times ● Apr. 1, 2019

The thermometer on the back porch stood at ninety-two, the carhouse shimmered faintly in the distance, and the giant chinaberry trees were deadly still.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 27, 2015

I used to climb to the top of one of the huge chinaberry trees, which guarded our front gate, and look out over the world.

From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2010

When she had climbed higher than the chinaberry trees in her back yard she looked down, was dizzy, and looked up the rest of the way.

From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee

Mrs. Macy smiled at the loblollies and chinaberries curving around the perimeter of the Macys’ two acres.

From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2020

One of the old ladies from the residences yet to be converted to a rooming house was outside in her pink housecoat, sweeping chinaberries off her sidewalk.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 30, 2018

He’d tended quietly to his apples and rhododendrons, his chinaberries and mulberry hedges, his rows of vegetables and flowers.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson