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

If the first eight steps, rising amid the site’s oak and maple trees, can be viewed as his birth and boyhood in the state, those at the summit reflect his later years of anguish and trial. — Chris Kenning, USA Today, 2 July 2026

Getting your hands dirty with charcoal, tweaking vents and chimneys to stop chunks of oak from flaring up and destroying your brisket, exerting your will over the heat inside a big metal box; barbecue takes a lot of practice. — Noah Kaufman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026

Paint the Walls a Balanced Neutral Kathy Kuo, interior designer and founder of Kathy Kuo Home, notes that almost any cool neutral hue works well with '90s-style oak cabinets—especially when applying a fresh coat of paint to the surrounding walls. — Shagun Khare, The Spruce, 1 July 2026

French oak contributes richness without overwhelming the fruit, allowing citrus, stone fruit and fresh acidity to remain at the forefront. — Emily Price, Forbes.com, 30 June 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