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Glite Dictionary
hickory tree

hickory tree

1 4.4
An American tree with strong wood used for furniture that produces edible nuts
  • noun
  • /ˈhɪkəri tri/
  • US
translation icon : árbol de hickory
  • The good news is, part of the hickory tree that fell is still good; it will make great firewood.

Examples

  • Pap sat away across the pasture on the edge of the place, squatting under a hickory tree.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • This hickory tree is older than you.

    Crooked Arrows (2012)

  • He found a good stick under a hickory tree.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Broken sunlight passed through water oaks and hickory trees a hundred feet tall, illuminating the colors of fall.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • My forehead slammed and tore against the rough bark of a hickory tree, and the pain calmed me.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Tangled Up in Nath is a mass of vines strung between two hickory trees.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Realizing that he needed more kindling for the fire, he walked over to the woodshed, leaned his gun against a pile of white oak logs, and began splitting large cylindrical pieces of a hickory tree he had cut down the previous summer.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The hickory tree in our backyard produces delicious nuts every autumn.

  • He used the strong wood from the hickory tree to build a sturdy chair.

  • During the hike, we stopped to admire the tall hickory tree beside the trail.

Synonyms

hickory
vshickory tree
  • US
6 7.2

A North American tree that has edible nuts and hard wood

is about American hardwoods generally rather than specifically North American

Surface Forms

hickory tree singular
hickory trees plural

Morphology

hickory + tree

The phrase denotes a type of tree and is directly compositional: 'hickory' names a particular hardwood species and 'tree' indicates the plant category. This noun–noun naming pattern is a common, literal compounding that a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand.

Etymology

The name hickory tree comes from a Native American word for a kind of 'nut' and for the stick used to smoke meat, which early English speakers adopted. That's why hickory tree makes you think of both the tree's very strong wood and its tasty nuts.