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

Instead, Trump has turned this into more of a Christmas tree. —NBC news, 15 Mar. 2026

Restaurants, shops, and family-friendly events such as the Memorial Day parade, Independence Day celebration, Christmas tree lighting, and weekly farmers markets add to the small-town community atmosphere. —Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2026

Kimberly also shared a rare photo of the whole family standing in front of a large Christmas tree with some of the kids holding elf toys. —Lara Walsh, InStyle, 9 Mar. 2026

My wife, our daughter and I had a strong difference in opinion regarding which Christmas tree to buy at a pricey greenhouse, leading all three of us to have varying degrees of meltdowns. —Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Mar. 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