cedar

American  

[see-der] / ˈsi dər /

noun

1. any of several Old World, coniferous trees of the genus Cedrus, having wide, spreading branches.

2. any of various junipers, as the red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, of the cypress family, having reddish-brown bark and dark-blue, berrylike fruit.

3. any of various other coniferous trees.

4. any of several trees belonging to the genus Cedrela, of the mahogany family, as the Spanish cedar.

5. Also called cedarwood.  the fragrant wood of any of these trees, used in furniture and as a moth repellent.

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cedar British  

/ ˈsiːdə /

noun

1. any Old World coniferous tree of the genus Cedrus, having spreading branches, needle-like evergreen leaves, and erect barrel-shaped cones: family Pinaceae See also cedar of Lebanon deodar

2. any of various other conifers, such as the red cedars and white cedars

3. the wood of any of these trees

4. any of certain other plants, such as the Spanish cedar

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adjective

1. made of the wood of a cedar tree

Etymology

Origin of cedar

before 1000; Middle English cedir, Old English ceder < Latin cedrus < Greek kédros; replacing Middle English cedre < Old French < Latin, as above

Explanation

A cedar is an evergreen tree with a particularly fragrant wood. The trees in your yard that keep their green needles through the winter might be cedars. There are many different varieties of cedars, including a popular Christmas tree in the Southern US, the Eastern Red Cedar. Cedars are probably best known for the strong, appealing scent of their wood, which is often used to line storage chests or closets, both for the smell and its tendency to repel moths. The Greek root of cedar is kedros.

Example Sentences

Once, they brought in a shaman to cleanse the house with sage and cedar during a full blood moon.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

But he then pointed to the deodar cedar next to where his brother’s house stood.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025

These 4,600-year-old funerary boats, made of cedar and acacia, were intended to transport the king into the afterlife.

From Barron's • Nov. 4, 2025

The next morning, after a soak in the cedar tub, I ventured out for breakfast at Tida Moon, a restaurant recommended by Higa, the bar owner in Naha.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 25, 2025

Smell of them cedar shavings is nice, too, or maybe it’s the smell from Mr. Woodwell’s corncob pipe.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick

Related Words

• evergreen