hickory

noun

hick·​o·​ry ˈhi-k(ə-)rē 

plural hickories

1

a

: any of a genus (Carya) of North American hardwood trees of the walnut family that often have sweet edible nuts

b

: the usually tough wood of a hickory

2

: a switch or cane (as of hickory wood) used especially for punishing a child

hickory adjective

Examples of hickory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Back in Arkansas, 20 more miles of riding, partly through the Mark Twain National Forest, where hardwood trees like oak and hickory offer a vibrant autumn backdrop, bring you to Eureka Springs. —Cindy Hirschfeld, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2023

The train then travels over Goshen Pass and through downtown Lexington, Virginia before passing through George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, a 1.8 million acre expanse that’s home to over 40 species of trees, including colorful oaks, hickories, and maples. —Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 25 Sep. 2023

The offer includes a 6-pound, bone-in hickory smoked ham from Market Pantry; Good & Gather russet potatoes and frozen corn; Del Monte green beans; Campbell's cream of mushroom soup; and Favorite Day French bread and peppermint sandwich cookies. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 8 Dec. 2023

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, composed of U.S and Canadian communities, first played lacrosse on wide-open stretches of land, using sticks fashioned from hickory and catgut. —David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2023

Sure, the maples, oaks, sweetgums, and hickories in the Northeast net the most attention during fall foliage season, but there’s a certain poetry in the stately yellows and oranges of the quaking aspens, cottonwoods, and birches out West. —Popular Science, 12 Oct. 2023

Here barbecue means one thing and one thing only: pork— specifically, 15 to 20-pound hams slow-cooked over hickory and oak. —Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2023

The caves are easily the Meramec Valley’s biggest draw, but in the fall, half of the appeal is found above the surface of the Earth, when Missouri’s maples, ashes, hickories, and oaks start to change colors. —Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 2 Oct. 2023

To stroll through the Ice Age South would be to encounter many familiar plants—from maples and hickories to, yes, magnolia and dogwood—but also giant land tortoises, giant moose, giant beavers, dire wolves, American lions, and (in Florida) giant armadillos. —Scott W. Stern, The New Republic, 26 June 2023

Word History

Etymology

short for obsolete pokahickory, from Virginia Algonquian pawcohiccora food prepared from pounded nuts

First Known Use

1670, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing hickory

• shagbark hickory

Kids Definition

hickory

noun

hick·​o·​ry ˈhik-(ə-)rē 

plural hickories

1

: any of a genus of North American trees related to the walnut and having an edible nut with a hard shell

2

: the usually tough pale wood of a hickory

Geographical Definition

Hickory

geographical name

Hick·​o·​ry ˈhi-kə-rē 

city in west central North Carolina population 40,010