oak

noun

ˈōk 

plural oaks or oak

often attributive

1

a

: any of a genus (Quercus) of trees or shrubs of the beech family that produce acorns

also : any of various plants related to or resembling the oaks

b

: the tough hard durable wood of an oak tree

2

: the leaves of an oak used as decoration

Illustration of oak

• 1 acorn
• 2 leaf

Examples of oak in a Sentence

Tall oaks line the street.

The table is solid oak.

The cabinets are made of oak.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Admiral Schley’s High Ball is a lovely and disarming drink, the bright fruit of the pineapple teasing out the honeyed brightness of the dessert wine, with the mild oak from the Irish Whiskey providing structure, a kind of a gentle but present backbone. —Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 14 Mar. 2026

Controlled burns will be carried out every 2 to 5 years to maintain the oak savanna habitat. —Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 14 Mar. 2026

The countertop is made from oak and there's also a large matching breakfast bar dining area. —Adam Williams march 14, New Atlas, 14 Mar. 2026

Farther out, the Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park offers miles of hiking and horseback riding trails across wetlands and prairie landscapes, while the Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area protects one of the region’s last remaining stands of old-growth oak forest. —Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 13 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ook, oke, going back to Old English āc, going back to Germanic *eik- (whence also Old Frisian ēk "oak," Old Saxon ēc, Old High German eih, eihha, Old Norse eik), of obscure origin

Note: Old English āc is a feminine root noun (dative singular and nominative plural ǣc), though forms leveled to other declensions with umlaut are already evident. Germanic *eik- has been compared with the Greek words aigílōps, a name in Theophrastus for a species of oak (Quercus macrolepis?), and krátaigos, a species of hawthorn (also in Theophrastus), but interpretation of the conjoined elements of these words is conjectural (lṓpē is not actually attested in the sense "cork" or "bark"). The derivation of Latin aesculus "a species of oak (Quercus petraea?)" is obscure. The Lithuanian dialect forms áižuols and áužuolas "oak," superficially comparable, are hypercorrections of ą́žuolas, which is very unlikely to be related to *eik- (cf. Old Prussian ansonis = German eche in the Elbing Vocabulary).

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing oak

• bur oak
• chestnut oak
• chinquapin oak
• cork oak
• durmast oak
• evergreen oak
• holm oak
• live oak
• oak apple
• oak-leaf cluster
• oak wilt
• pin oak
• poison oak
• post oak
• red oak
• scrub oak
• she-oak
• silk oak
• tan oak
• turkey oak
• water oak
• white oak

Rhymes for oak

• bloke
• boeck
• broke
• choke
• cloak
• cloke
• croak
• folk
• hoke
• joke
• moke
• poke

Kids Definition

oak

noun

ˈōk 

plural oaks or oak

1

: any of various trees or shrubs closely related to the beeches and chestnuts and producing acorns

2

: the tough hard wood of the oak much used for furniture and flooring

oaken

ˈō-kən 

adjective