Christmas tree

noun

plural Christmas trees

1

: a usually evergreen tree decorated at Christmas

2

: an oil-well control device consisting of an assembly of fittings placed at the top of the well

3

drag racing : a set of paired colored lights arranged in two columns on a vertical pole in front of the starting line and used for starting a race

Lights on top of the Christmas tree tell the drivers to enter the staging area. Larger yellow lights mean, "get ready." The green light means "go!"

—Lori Polydoros

Examples of Christmas tree in a Sentence

We hung the lights on the Christmas tree.

Recent Examples on the Web

When his older brother was killed in Korea and his father put the casket by the Christmas tree … That was crazy. —Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026

Each holiday season, Lisa Mbugua and her two children decorate their Christmas tree with her sister’s ornaments. —Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 12 Apr. 2026

Another depicts a Christmas tree, lit and adorned, at a time when such abundance would have been out of reach. —Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2026

These full evergreens resemble a Christmas tree, giving them a timeless landscaping look. —Heather Bien, Southern Living, 8 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1826, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for Christmas tree

• agree
• allee
• banshee
• beastly
• bibi
• bowsprit
• carefree
• cerci
• chablis
• cowpea
• crappie
• crappy

Kids Definition

Christmas tree

noun

: a usually evergreen tree decorated at Christmas