willow

[ wil-oh ]

See synonyms for willow on Thesaurus.com

noun

any tree or shrub of the genus Salix, characterized by narrow, lance-shaped leaves and dense catkins bearing small flowers, many species having tough, pliable twigs or branches used for wickerwork, etc.: Compare willow family.
the wood of any of these trees.

Informal. something, especially a cricket bat, made of willow wood.
Also called willower, willy. a machine consisting essentially of a cylinder armed with spikes revolving within a spiked casing, for opening and cleaning cotton or other fiber.

verb (used with object)

to treat (textile fibers) with a willow.

Origin of willow

First recorded before 900; Middle English wilwe, variant of wilghe, Old English welig; cognate with Old Saxon wilgia, Dutch wilg, Low German wilge

Other words from willow

wil·low·like, adjective
wil·low·ish, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use willow in a sentence

Kate was visiting the Willows Primary School, which is, against all the odds, one of the city's most successful primaries.
Kate Dazzles in Erdem on Manchester's 'Shameless' Estate | Tom Sykes | April 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
According to the greatness of their work, is their visitation also: they shall lead them to the torrent of the willows.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
And they shall spring up among the herbs, as willows beside the running waters.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
It was nearly six weeks after the day that she had watched him as far as the clump of willows that he came again.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. Drinkwater
The mainland of the great northern cove and the eastern side of the Islands were thick with trees: oaks, buckeye, willows, madroo.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton

On these shallows water-loving plants and even certain trees, such as the willows and poplars, find a foothold.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

British Dictionary definitions for willow (1 of 2)

willow

/ (ˈwɪləʊ) /

noun

any of numerous salicaceous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix, such as the weeping willow and osiers of N temperate regions, which have graceful flexible branches, flowers in catkins, and feathery seeds
the whitish wood of certain of these trees

something made of willow wood, such as a cricket or baseball bat
a machine having a system of revolving spikes for opening and cleaning raw textile fibres

Origin of willow

Old English welig; related to wilige wicker basket, Old Saxon wilgia, Middle High German wilge, Greek helikē willow, helix twisted

Derived forms of willow

willowish or willow-like, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for Willow (2 of 2)

Willow

noun

a small town in S Alaska, about 113 km (70 miles) northwest of Anchorage: chosen as the site of the projected new state capital in 1976, a plan which never came to fruition. Pop: 1658 (2000)

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

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