hackberry

noun

hack·​ber·​ry ˈhak-ˌber-ē 

: any of a genus (Celtis) of trees and shrubs of the elm family with small often edible berries

also : its wood

Examples of hackberry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The trail begins across 89A from Manzanita Campground and scrambles through woods sprinkled with oak, walnut, hackberry, and later on, bigtooth maple. —Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 10 Oct. 2025

Actually, a bumper crop of Asian woolly hackberry aphids is floating through yards, clinging to trees, and even landing in people's laps. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 1 Oct. 2025

The area will have a garden path with a variety of hackberry and sycamore trees, black-eyed Susans, and autumn joy plants. —Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Aug. 2025

Luna moths need sweet gum and hickory, and question mark butterflies need hackberry trees. —Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 7 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of hagberry a cherry resembling the chokecherry

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hackberry

• askari
• astbury
• azeri
• banbury
• barberry
• blackberry
• blueberry
• canary
• cranberry
• dentary
• dewberry
• dogberry

Kids Definition

hackberry

noun

hack·​ber·​ry ˈhak-ˌber-ē 

1

: any of a genus of trees and shrubs that are related to the elms and have small often edible berries

2

: the wood of a hackberry