oak

[ ohk ]

noun

1. any tree or shrub belonging to the genus Quercus, of the beech family, bearing the acorn as fruit.
2. the hard, durable wood of an oak tree, used in making furniture and in construction.
3. Archaic. the leaves of an oak tree, especially as worn in a chaplet.

adjective

1. pertaining to or made of oak:

   an antique oak desk;

   heavy oak doors with double locks.

oak

/ əʊk /

noun

1. any deciduous or evergreen tree or shrub of the fagaceous genus Quercus, having acorns as fruits and lobed leaves See also holm oak cork oak red oak Turkey oak durmast quercine
2. 1. the wood of any of these trees, used esp as building timber and for making furniture
   2. ( as modifier )

      an oak table

3. any of various trees that resemble the oak, such as the poison oak, silky oak, and Jerusalem oak
4. 1. anything made of oak, esp a heavy outer door to a set of rooms in an Oxford or Cambridge college
   2. to shut this door as a sign one does not want visitors
5. the leaves of an oak tree, worn as a garland
6. the dark brownish colour of oak wood
7. any of various species of casuarina, such as desert oak, swamp oak, or she-oak

Other Words From

• oak·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of oak¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English ok(e), oc, Old English āc; cognate with Dutch eik, German Eiche, Old Icelandic eik; further origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of oak¹

Old English āc; related to Old Norse eik, Old High German eih, Latin aesculus

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. sport one's oak, British. (of a university student) to indicate that one is not at home to visitors by closing the outer door of one's lodgings.

Example Sentences

The understory of the ponderosa and sugar pine forest was speckled with manzanita, oak trees and dogwoods with yellow leaves, marking the start of fall.

From Los Angeles Times

But the decision was quickly made to replace them as faithfully as possible – with oak from the forests of France.

From BBC

“So we have six habitats here,” the retired family physician said, giving a dozen of us a quick warning about poison oak before breaking down the marine, plant and wildlife glories that surrounded us.

From Los Angeles Times

So yeah, that femme performance is so defining of how to hold yourself, to be erect because matriarchs are the oaks of families.

From New York Times

Interesting side note: Mugwort tends to grow next to poison oak.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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