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Synonyms

shrub

1 American  
[shruhb] / ʃrʌb /

noun

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

shrub 2 American  
[shruhb] / ʃrʌb /

noun

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

shrub 1 British  
/ ʃrʌb /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
shrub 2 British  
/ 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
shrub Scientific  
/ shrŭb /

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

Other Word Forms

  • shrubless adjective
  • shrublike adjective

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On each spike, she’d speared a dried-up berry from the shrub near Deadwood River.

From Literature

Native trees like alder, spruce and rowan are interspersed with hawthorn shrubs.

From BBC

But he tried to play down the incident, saying the tree was no bigger than a shrub.

From BBC

Trees and plants are well-manicured: officials prune, shape and clear the shrubs regularly, and parks are governed by an elaborate rulebook that includes bans on activities like cycling, skating and kite-flying, depending on the park.

From BBC

An exterior sprinkler system can pump 40,000 gallons of water from giant tanks hidden behind the shrubs in the property’s yard.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.