red oak

noun

1

: any of various North American oaks (such as Quercus rubra and Quercus falcata) that have acorns with the inner surface of the shell lined with woolly hairs, the acorn cap covered with thin scales, and leaf veins that usually run beyond the margin of the leaf to form bristles

2

: the wood of a red oak

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Or order a popular evergreen, such as a Colorado blue spruce, or plant a fast-growing Northern red oak. —Christina Montoya Fiedler, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Apr. 2023

Mexican white oak grows as fast as Texas red oak. —Calvin Finch, San Antonio Express-News, 29 Oct. 2021

Consider Texas red oak, live oak, bur oak, Mexican sycamore, cedar elm, Mexican white oak, chinkapin oak and anaqua. —Calvin Finch, ExpressNews.com, 1 Oct. 2020

New Jersey New Jersey's state tree is the red oak. —Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2023

Above Burton’s bed, there is a red oak poster board with a couple of pictures, numbers and phrases on it. —Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 15 Aug. 2022

The brown-colored red oak leaves that have clung to trees since last growing season have been falling, another subtle spring sign. —Bob Timmons, Star Tribune, 11 Feb. 2021

Each acorn was painted with colored bands to indicate its species: red oak, bur oak, black oak, white oak, swamp white oak, scarlet oak, pin oak, willow oak. —Brandon Keim Tristan Spinski, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2022

The Navy eventually took over the care of the forests from the Department of Agriculture, fostering the natural hardwoods – red oak, white oak, hickory, and tulip poplars – to control the erosion and restore the land ravaged by farming and the base construction. —Doug Struck, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Sep. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

red oak

noun

1

: any of various North American oaks with acorns that take two years to mature and leaves with bristles on the edge

2

: the wood of a red oak