bayberry

[ bey-ber-ee, -buh-ree ]

noun

, plural bay·ber·ries.

1. any of several often aromatic trees or shrubs of the genus Myrica, as M. pensylvanica, of northeastern North America, and M. californica, of the western U.S. Compare wax myrtle.
2. the berry of such a plant.
3. bay ⁴( def 2 ).

bayberry

/ ˈbeɪbərɪ /

noun

1. any of several North American aromatic shrubs or small trees of the genus Myrica , that bear grey waxy berries: family Myricaceae See also wax myrtle
2. Also calledbay rum tree a tropical American myrtaceous tree, Pimenta racemosa , that yields an oil used in making bay rum
3. the fruit of any of these plants

Word History and Origins

Origin of bayberry¹

First recorded in 1570–80; bay ⁴ + berry

Example Sentences

On a warm day in May, the island smelled the way it always had: a bracing scent of salt brine and peppery bayberry from the protected moors that cover most of its surface.

From New York Times

A fuzzy, freckled gull chick emerged from a bayberry bush, stared curiously at me as if it had spotted a Martian, and then waddled back to its hiding place.

From New York Times

Now, it is a larger and maturing display that includes towering shrubs of buttonbush and bayberry amid lower drifts of lobelia, aster, swamp mallow, goldenrod and winterberry.

From Seattle Times

In the heart of the garden, there are towering shrubs of buttonbush and bayberry amid lower drifts of lobelia, aster, swamp mallow, goldenrod and winterberry.

From Washington Post

They set up their summer camps within dunes blanketed with beach grass and sand pea, amid thickets of bayberry, oak and red cedar.

From New York Times