acacia

American  

[uh-key-shuh] / əˈkeɪ ʃə /

noun

1. a small tree or shrub belonging to the genus Acacia, of the mimosa family, having clusters of small yellow flowers.

2. any of several other plants, as the locust tree.

3. gum arabic.

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acacia British  

/ əˈkeɪʃə /

noun

1. any shrub or tree of the tropical and subtropical leguminous genus Acacia, having compound or reduced leaves and small yellow or white flowers in dense inflorescences See also wattle 1

2. another name for locust locust

3. another name for gum arabic

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Etymology

Origin of acacia

1535–45; < Latin < Greek akakía Egyptian thorn

Example Sentences

Vast stretches of a once-verdant acacia forest south of Sudan's capital Khartoum have been reduced to little more than fields of stumps as nearly three years of conflict have fuelled deforestation.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

Elephants around Lake Manyara in Tanzania were killing acacia trees by ripping off bark and leaving “pale ghostly white trunks.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025

On the island of Borneo, the district of Sepaku, at least a two-hour drive from any city, was known for its forests of mangrove, acacia and eucalyptus.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 16, 2024

The school is in a compound made up of 10 classrooms arranged in a horseshoe shape around a playground where acacia trees and plants spring out of the sandy soil.

From BBC • Jul. 14, 2024

There was a tandoor in the corner in the shadow of an acacia tree and I saw a man squatting beside it.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini