acacia

noun

aca·cia | \ ə-ˈkā-shə

Definition of acacia

1 [ Middle English acacia, acacie "astringent gum made from the juice of green plums or sloes," borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French acasie, acacie "juice of plums or sloes," borrowed from Medieval Latin acacia, going back to Latin "gum arabic" ] : gum arabic

2 : any of a large genus (Acacia) of leguminous shrubs and trees of warm regions with leaves pinnate or reduced to phyllodes and white or yellow flower clusters

Examples of acacia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Because of her efforts, barren and eroded hills on the ranch are now covered in groves of olive, acacia, and leleshwa trees. — Allyn Stewart, Town & Country, "How Kuki Gallmann Became One of Kenya's Great Protectors," 24 Apr. 2017 A few of the more than 300 varieties in the United States: --Acacia: From the yellow clusters of flowers of acacia trees, this is the sweetest, most delicate honey available. — Fox News, "Everything you need to know about honey," 6 Oct. 2015 His most unusual wine, however, is the Finca Calvestra white, made of the obscure merseguera grape and aged in acacia barrels. — Eric Asimov, New York Times, "The Grape From Manchuela," 21 June 2018 In addition, these fast-growing acacias tend to take care of themselves. — Debbie Arrington, sacbee, "This sure sign of (almost) spring offers drought relief, too," 16 Feb. 2018 Still other plants, like acacia, have seeds that germinate only after exposure to fire or smoke. — C. Claiborne Ray, New York Times, "Why the Forest Doesn’t Fear the Fire," 22 Jan. 2018 Past the odd acacia tree and lone ostrich and pair of giraffes in the distance, rising from the ground like elegant, blinking sculptures. — Rachel Levin, WSJ, "The Toughest Half-Marathon You’ll Want to Plan a Trip Around," 3 July 2018 Sliding shoji-style doors lead to an airy room with an acacia-wood floor and a sleeping loft. — Amy Gamerman, WSJ, "Tree Houses for Grown-Ups," 3 May 2018 The resulting wine is fragrant, light- to medium-bodied and dry, the acacia adding floral, smoky and caramel notes to the wine’s basically citric flavor. — Mike Dunne, sacbee, "Bright and intriguing wines in full bloom at these four foothill wineries | The Sacramento Bee," 9 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'acacia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.