dogwood

noun

dog·​wood ˈdȯg-ˌwu̇d 

: any of various trees and shrubs (genus Cornus of the family Cornaceae, the dogwood family) with clusters of small flowers and often large white, pink, or red involucral bracts

Examples of dogwood in a Sentence

The furniture is made of dogwood.

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, serviceberries provide spring-ripening fruit, red-twig dogwoods provide summer fruit, while hawthorns and crabapples provide fruit in fall and winter. —Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 14 Mar. 2026

Some options include Japanese maples with their golden, variegated, or red leaves, flowering trees such as magnolias or dogwoods, and trees that put on a spectacle of color in the fall, such as oaks, aspens, sassafras, and hawthorns. —Wendy Rose Gould, Martha Stewart, 10 Mar. 2026

Virginia One of the most magical places to see dogwoods in Charlottesville is at the world-famous Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s architectural masterpiece on a hill overlooking the city. —Abby Price, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2026

Willows and dogwood can have colorful new growth on their branches. —Markis Hill, Kansas City Star, 6 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dogwood

• flowering dogwood

Rhymes for dogwood

• allgood
• basswood
• beechwood
• bellwood
• birchwood
• boxwood
• boyhood
• brushwood
• childhood
• cordwood
• driftwood
• falsehood

Kids Definition

dogwood

noun

dog·​wood ˈdȯg-ˌwu̇d 

: any of various trees and shrubs having clusters of small flowers often surrounded by four showy leaves that look like petals

Medical Definition

dogwood

noun

dog·​wood ˈdȯ-ˌgwu̇d 

: any tree or shrub of the genus Cornus