shrub

¹

[ shruhb ]

noun

1. a woody plant smaller than a tree, usually having multiple permanent stems branching from or near the ground.

shrub

²

[ shruhb ]

noun

1. any of various acidulated beverages made from the juice of fruit, sugar, and other ingredients, often including alcohol.

shrub

¹

/ ʃrʌb /

noun

1. a mixed drink of rum, fruit juice, sugar, and spice
2. mixed fruit juice, sugar, and spice made commercially to be mixed with rum or other spirits

shrub

²

/ ʃrʌb /

noun

1. a woody perennial plant, smaller than a tree, with several major branches arising from near the base of the main stem

shrub

/ shrŭb /

1. A woody plant that is smaller than a tree, usually having several stems rather than a single trunk; a bush.

Derived Forms

• ˈshrubˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• shrubless adjective
• shrublike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shrub¹

before 1000; Middle English shrubbe, Old English scrybb brushwood; cognate with dialectal Danish skrub

Origin of shrub²

1740–50; < Arabic, metathetic variant of shurb drink; sherbet

Word History and Origins

Origin of shrub¹

C18: from Arabic sharāb, variant of shurb drink; see sherbet

Origin of shrub²

Old English scrybb; related to Middle Low German schrubben coarse, uneven, Old Swedish skrubba to scrub ¹

Example Sentences

Shane Dewees, right, and other researchers clean native shrub seeds in a botany lab.

From Los Angeles Times

Students collected native shrub seeds by hand from local watersheds to maintain genetic purity.

From Los Angeles Times

“Shrub seedlings just can’t hack competition from the grasses,” D’Antonio said.

From Los Angeles Times

Service Berries are a local perennial shrub that fruit only for a couple weeks in mid spring.

From Salon

I drink raspberry shrub cocktails when I vacation with my girlfriends and go out for ice cream with my husband on the weekends.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• foliage
• hedge
• shrubbery
• thicket
• topiary
• tree