Japanese maple

noun

: a maple (Acer palmatum) of Japan, China, and Korea with purple flowers and usually deeply parted leaves that is widely cultivated as a shrub or small tree

Examples of Japanese maple in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Almost any season is good to prune Japanese maples, but late winter to early spring is the best time for any major pruning since the tree is dormant and there’s no new growth. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 26 Jan. 2026

Nature—and its subtlest micro-shifts—are the main protagonists, from the green humidity of summer, the sound of cicadas ringing thick in the air to the fiery blaze of autumn leaves (courtesy of approximately 3,000 Japanese maple trees) and the fresh cloud-like bursts of springtime sakura. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026

The key to pruning without harming your Japanese maple is to avoid taking off too much; don’t remove more than a third of the branches annually, and limit major pruning to the dormancy period. —Gemma Johnstone, The Spruce, 18 Jan. 2026

Their 1925 building was designed with a courtyard garden, instead of a lobby entrance (a rarity in New York), that’s planted with boxwoods and Japanese maples. —Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 10 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Japanese maple

• papal
• staple

Kids Definition

Japanese maple

noun

: a maple native to Japan, China, and Korea with usually green, red, or purplish leaves