white cedar

noun

|Updated on: 16 May 2018

Definition of white cedar

1 : an aromatic evergreen swamp tree (Chamaecyparis thyoides) of the cypress family that occurs along the eastern coast of the U.S. and has branchlets in fan-shaped sprays and small round cones; also : its wood

2 : northern white cedar

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Recent Examples of white cedar from the Web

Harrington Beach State Park, Belgium This state park has a little bit of everything: one mile of sandy beach along Lake Michigan, a scenic lake in an old quarry, restored wetlands and a white cedar and hardwood swamp.

— chelsey lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "5 kid-friendly hikes under 2 miles in the Milwaukee area," 4 May 2018
The swamp encompasses stands of white cedar as well as black ash.

— don behm, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "214 acres of landscape sponges added to Milwaukee area flood control," 18 Dec. 2017
Fueled in part by a popular crime novel, Seicho Matsumoto’s Tower of Wave, distraught teens and other troubled souls straggle through the 7,680-acre confusion of pine, boxwood and white cedar.

— gilles mingasson, Smithsonian, "Why Mount Fuji Endures As a Powerful Force in Japan," 29 May 2017

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