tree of life

noun phrase

: a conventionalized and often ornate representation of a tree used as a decorative motif

Examples of tree of life in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Other extinct branches of the tree of life included Hawaiian honeyeater birds of the family Mohoidae and the Dinornithormes order which grouped giant flightless birds such as New Zealand’s moas. Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025 And really kicked off the idea of the tree of life as both a[n] intellectual construct and an empirical area — a thing to discover. Quanta Magazine, 21 Aug. 2025 What’s so extraordinary about our current moment is how one species on one branch of this gigantic tree of life has suddenly discovered this vast, ancient underground reservoir of carbon made by old life—and is lighting it all on fire. Lee Billings, Scientific American, 21 Aug. 2025 It was rooted in our normal tree of life. F.d. Flam, Twin Cities, 6 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tree of life

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tree of life was in 1880

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Cite this Entry

“Tree of life.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tree%20of%20life. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.

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