horse chestnut

Definition of horse chestnut

1 : a large tree (Aesculus hippocastanum of the family Hippocastanaceae, the horse-chestnut family) of southeastern Europe that has palmate leaves and erect conical clusters of showy flowers and is widely cultivated as an ornamental and shade tree and naturalized as an escape also : buckeye

2 : the large glossy brown seed of a horse chestnut

Examples of horse chestnut in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Take care not to eat horse chestnuts, which are poisonous, Penhallegon said. — oregonlive, "How to harvest hazelnuts, walnuts and chestnuts and store them for the winter," 15 Oct. 2019 The conservancy highlighted Aesculus hippocastanum, or the horse chestnut tree, native to southeastern Europe. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Report: 58% of Europe-only trees face extinction threat," 27 Sep. 2019

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

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Dictionary Entries near horse chestnut

horse-chestnut family

horsecloth

horse conch

Statistics for horse chestnut

Cite this Entry

“Horse chestnut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horse%20chestnut. Accessed 5 Jul. 2020.

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