plural oaks or oak
often attributive
1
a
: any of a genus (Quercus) of trees or shrubs of the beech family that produce acorns
also : any of various plants related to or resembling the oaks
b
: the tough hard durable wood of an oak tree
2
: the leaves of an oak used as decoration

Illustration of oak

Illustration of oak
  • 1 acorn
  • 2 leaf

Examples of oak in a Sentence

Tall oaks line the street. The table is solid oak. The cabinets are made of oak.
Recent Examples on the Web Some distillers use new oak barrels, while others may use barrels that previously held other spirits, such as whiskey, rum, or wine. Emily Price, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024 Giveaway events start at 5 p.m. except on Oct. 16, when the event begins at 10 a.m.; events will feature presentations about the benefits of oak trees and how to care for them. Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2024 On one of these lakes, at the end of a sandy path and behind a dense wall of pine, copper beech, and oak trees, a certain Dr. Funk built his small thatched cottage. Fiona Bornhöft, Architectural Digest, 23 Sep. 2024 Other oaks for dry soil: Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), 60-80 feet tall and wide, Zones 3-8; and gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), 20-30 feet tall, 15 feet wide, Zones 3-9. Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for oak 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'oak.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ook, oke, going back to Old English āc, going back to Germanic *eik- (whence also Old Frisian ēk "oak," Old Saxon ēc, Old High German eih, eihha, Old Norse eik), of obscure origin

Note: Old English āc is a feminine root noun (dative singular and nominative plural ǣc), though forms leveled to other declensions with umlaut are already evident. Germanic *eik- has been compared with the Greek words aigílōps, a name in Theophrastus for a species of oak (Quercus macrolepis?), and krátaigos, a species of hawthorn (also in Theophrastus), but interpretation of the conjoined elements of these words is conjectural (lṓpē is not actually attested in the sense "cork" or "bark"). The derivation of Latin aesculus "a species of oak (Quercus petraea?)" is obscure. The Lithuanian dialect forms áižuols and áužuolas "oak," superficially comparable, are hypercorrections of ą́žuolas, which is very unlikely to be related to *eik- (cf. Old Prussian ansonis = German eche in the Elbing Vocabulary).

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of oak was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near oak

Cite this Entry

“Oak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oak. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

oak

noun
plural oaks or oak
1
: any of various trees or shrubs closely related to the beeches and chestnuts and producing acorns
2
: the tough hard wood of the oak much used for furniture and flooring
oaken adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on oak

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