poplar

noun

pop·​lar ˈpä-plər 

1

a

: any of a genus (Populus) of slender catkin-bearing quick-growing deciduous trees (such as an aspen or cottonwood) of the willow family

b

: the wood of a poplar

2

: tulip tree sense 1

Examples of poplar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Red and sugar maples, along with American beech, pines, oaks, poplars, and elms, are most likely to develop tree girdling due to roots. —Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 June 2024

Allergenic trees include alder, birch, cedar, horse chestnut, oak poplar and willow. —Ray Padilla, The Courier-Journal, 29 Feb. 2024

Dry, unpigmented, medium-density woods – elm, poplar and cottonwood are some examples – will work well for the spindle and the hearth board. —Bradley Duncan, Discover Magazine, 25 Dec. 2023

Pissarro puns, in fact, on the resemblance of the smokestacks, atmospherically softened, to the poplar trees rising to their right, the made and the natural evened out by light. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English popler, from Anglo-French, from Old French *pople poplar, from Latin populus

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing poplar

• balsam poplar
• Lombardy poplar
• tulip poplar
• yellow poplar

Kids Definition

poplar

noun

pop·​lar ˈpäp-lər 

1

: any of a genus of slender quick-growing trees (as an aspen or cottonwood) that have catkins for flowers and are related to the willows

2

: the wood of a poplar

Geographical Definition

Poplar

geographical name

Pop·​lar ˈpä-plər 

former metropolitan borough of eastern London, England, on the northern bank of the Thames River that is now part of the borough of Tower Hamlets