maple

noun

ma·​ple ˈmā-pəl 

: any of a genus (Acer of the family Sapindaceae, the soapberry family) of chiefly deciduous trees or shrubs with opposite leaves and a fruit of two united samaras

also : the hard light-colored close-grained wood of a maple used especially for flooring and furniture

Examples of maple in a Sentence

The maple leaf is an emblem of Canada.

a table made of maple

Recent Examples on the Web

As evergreens, the redwoods remain the same year-round, but the forest's oaks and maples shift with the seasons. —Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2026

At Cinnaholic, customers can select a frosting from roughly 20 flavors such as cream cheese, caramel, maple and hazelnut. —John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026

Out of contact with Earth, the crew continued snapping pictures and shared a batch of maple cookies supplied by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the first person not from the United States to ever travel to deep space. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 9 Apr. 2026

There are several trail options, including a half-mile-long boardwalk that takes you to a tropical hardwood hammock and a cypress-maple swamp. —Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English mapul-; akin to Old Norse mǫpurr maple

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing maple

• bird's-eye maple
• hard maple
• Japanese maple
• maple sugar
• maple syrup
• Norway maple
• red maple
• rock maple
• silver maple
• sugar maple
• tiger maple
• vine maple

Rhymes for maple

• papal
• staple

Kids Definition

maple

noun

ma·​ple ˈmā-pəl 

: any of a group of trees having deeply notched opposite leaves, dry fruits with two wings, and hard light-colored wood and including some from which maple syrup and maple sugar are obtained

also : the wood of a maple