water oak

noun

1. an oak, Quercus nigra, of the southern U.S., growing chiefly along streams and swamps.
2. any of several other American oaks of similar habit.

Word History and Origins

Origin of water oak¹

An Americanism dating back to 1680–90

Example Sentences

“We have water oaks with shallow root systems. Any gust of wind can take them down.”

From New York Times

On Saturday, lots of homes around Lafayette saw near misses of fallen tree limbs, severed branches and uprooted water oaks.

From New York Times

But we desert the coaches of Little League, Ben thought, leaving the river’s edge and returning to the sidewalk beneath the huge water oaks of River Street.

From Literature

Cunningham pauses our regatta to point out a barely perceptible elevation change — rod-straight loblolly pines, sweetgums and water oak are clustered on slightly higher ground while bald cypresses and tupelos are partly submerged.

From Washington Post

A water oak fell into a corner of their house, but they didn’t care.

From Washington Times