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sweet gum

noun
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Definition of sweet gum

1 : a North American tree (Liquidambar styraciflua) of the witch-hazel family with palmately lobed glossy green leaves, corky twigs, a round spiny brown fruit cluster, and hard wood
2 : the smooth reddish-brown wood of the sweet gum

Illustration of sweet gum

Illustration of sweet gum

sweet gum 1

Examples of sweet gum in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Also, most sweet gums and sycamores sustain minimal damage. — Tom Maccubbin, orlandosentinel.com, "Hurricane Dorian reminder to check your trees for removal," 4 Sep. 2019 OpenLands also has been planting types of trees native to regions just south of the Great Lakes, such as Kentucky coffee tree and sweet gum, as a response to climate change. — Frank Vaisvilas, Daily Southtown, "The ash trees are gone and maples are in decline, Homewood boosts its canopy with new oaks, beech trees," 7 June 2019 The canister burst during the decontamination process after Apollo 14 returned to Earth, mixing the hundreds of redwood, pine, sycamore, Douglas fir and sweet gum seeds. — Emre Kelly, USA TODAY, "Irma topples NASA's 'Moon Tree' that flew on Apollo 14," 21 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sweet gum.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of sweet gum

1700, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Time Traveler for sweet gum

Time Traveler

The first known use of sweet gum was in 1700

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Cite this Entry

“Sweet gum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweet%20gum. Accessed 23 Jan. 2021.

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More Definitions for sweet gum

sweet gum

noun

Medical Definition of sweet gum

: a North American tree of the genus Liquidambar (L. styraciflua) with a round spiny brown fruit cluster and an inner bark that is the source of American storax

More from Merriam-Webster on sweet gum

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sweet gum

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