live oak

noun

: 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

Illustration of live oak
  • live oak a

Examples of live oak in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The fox squirrel, sitting upright on a piece of driftwood with a pecan in its paws, took me back to a long sweep of the lower Suwannee with limpid black waters, forests of pine and magnolia trees, live oaks, and wild pecans. Charles Elliott, Outdoor Life, 21 Aug. 2025 Towering live oaks, cedars, and palmettos once grew near the shore here, but as the Atlantic’s erosive forces carved the bluffs away, the trees tumbled down and were weathered by sun and salt into pale, bleached skeletons. Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 9 Aug. 2025 Two aging portables sat jammed up against the building’s walls, one pressed up against a live oak tree in the courtyard. Hanna Kang, Oc Register, 5 Aug. 2025 One of the plantation’s top draws is the iconic Avenue of the Oaks with over 80 live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. Noreen Kompanik, Boston Herald, 3 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for live oak

Word History

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of live oak was in 1610

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Cite this Entry

“Live oak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/live%20oak. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

live oak

noun
: 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

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