beech

noun

ˈbēch 

plural beeches or beech

: any of a genus (Fagus of the family Fagaceae, the beech family) of hardwood trees with smooth gray bark and small edible nuts

also : its wood

beechen

ˈbē-chən 

adjective

Examples of beech in a Sentence

a box made of beech

Recent Examples on the Web

There, somewhere under the dense cover of hemlock and maple, beech and pine, the truck came to a stop. —Photographs Todd Heisler, New York Times, 19 May 2024

In the early afternoon, my family and I strode out of a beech forest and onto a sweep of high grassland, where an expanse of oak trees stood like solitary guards. —Kate Eshelby, Travel + Leisure, 16 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English beche, from Old English bēce; akin to Old English bōc beech, Old High German buohha, Latin fagus, Greek phēgos oak

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing beech

• copper beech

Kids Definition

beech

noun

ˈbēch 

plural beeches or beech

: any of a genus of trees with smooth gray bark and small edible nuts

also : its wood

beechen

ˈbē-chən 

adjective