maple

noun

ma·​ple ˈmā-pəl 

: any of a genus (Acer of the family Sapindaceae, the soapberry family) of chiefly deciduous trees or shrubs with opposite leaves and a fruit of two united samaras

also : the hard light-colored close-grained wood of a maple used especially for flooring and furniture

Examples of maple in a Sentence

The maple leaf is an emblem of Canada.

a table made of maple

Recent Examples on the Web

Maple apple crunch at Little Rey Vanilla soft serve is topped with a warm compote of roasted apples and a graham cracker crumble with a drizzle of maple cinnamon. — Angela Hansberger, AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026

Maple Leaf Blonde Celebrity colorist and founder of Beauty Supply Emaly Baum says to think of maple leaf blonde like a soft beige of the classic golden blonde. — Audrey Noble, Vogue, 7 Oct. 2026

Not far away, Goldstream Provincial Park in Langford is home to what tourism officials call Niagara Falls of the West Coast, in addition to big-leaf maples, red alders that turn golden, along with 600-year-old Douglas fir trees. — Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026

But there are also plenty of sweet and fruity notes to balance things out, including vanilla, maple, tobacco, baked apple, plum, cherry, and toasted almond flavors. — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English mapul-; akin to Old Norse mǫpurr maple

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing maple

• bird's-eye maple
• hard maple
• Japanese maple
• maple sugar
• maple syrup
• Norway maple
• red maple
• rock maple
• silver maple
• sugar maple
• tiger maple
• vine maple

Rhymes for maple

• papal
• staple

Kids Definition

maple

noun

ma·​ple ˈmā-pəl 

: any of a group of trees having deeply notched opposite leaves, dry fruits with two wings, and hard light-colored wood and including some from which maple syrup and maple sugar are obtained

also : the wood of a maple