live oak

noun

ˈlīv- 

: any of several American evergreen oaks: such as

a

: a medium-sized oak (Quercus virginiana) of southeastern North America often cultivated as a shelter and shade tree and noted for its extremely hard tough durable wood

b

: any of several oaks of the western U.S. with evergreen foliage and hard durable wood

Illustration of live oak

• live oak a

Examples of live oak in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Browse the Thomasville walkable downtown collections of shops and boutiques and stop for a quiet, contemplative moment beneath one of the South’s oldest live oaks. —Kelsey Glennon, Southern Living, 13 July 2025

Uprooted cypress and live oak trees littered the park. —Rick Jervis, USA Today, 8 July 2025

On Saturday morning, the volunteers spent hours pulling up the black mustard, focusing on a patch of land with five large coast live oaks. —Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2025

Shumaker’s 3-run shot easily cleared the right center field wall and knocked down a sizable chunk of Spanish moss hanging from a live oak to give the Gators a 7-3 lead. —Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for live oak

• artichoke
• nanticoke
• womenfolk
• awoke
• baroque
• bespoke
• colloque
• convoke
• evoke
• invoke
• keystroke
• kinfolk

Kids Definition

live oak

noun

ˈlī-ˌvōk 

: any of several American oaks with evergreen leaves and hard durable wood

especially : one of the southeastern U.S. that is grown for its shelter and shade and formerly much used in building ships