Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
tornillo

tornillo

1 9.9
A small tree or shrub with twisted seed pods from dry parts of the United States and Mexico
  • noun
  • /tɔrˈniːjoʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tornillo
  • In the desert, the tornillo shrub thrives, producing unique spiral-shaped seed pods.

Examples

  • He leaned gracefully on a curved club made of tornillo wood, waiting for an explanation.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • He and Ipa's father built an open manger made of tornillo wood poles topped with straw and leaves and covered with a layer of adobe mud.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The furniture is made from tornillo wood, which is known for its durability and rich color.

  • She admired the intricate design of the tornillo tree's twisted branches against the sunset.

Synonyms

screwbean mesquite
vstornillo
  • Specialized
9.6

A small tree or shrub from the dry southwestern United States and Mexico that makes spiral seed pods

is the same plant described using a different common name
screwbean
vstornillo
  • Specialized
9.9

A small tree or bush with twisted seed pods that grows in dry southwestern regions

is the same plant expressed with an alternate short name
screw bean
vstornillo
  • Specialized
9.8

A dry-land shrub or small tree with spiral seed pods from the US Southwest and Mexico

uses a different spelling style without separate words
Prosopis pubescens
vstornillo
  • Specialized
9.9

A small tree or shrub with twisted seed pods that grows in dry parts of the US and Mexico

uses the ordinary common name rather than the Latin term

Surface Forms

tornillo singular
tornillos plural

Etymology

Tornillo comes from Spanish and literally means 'little screw', because the plant's seed pods are tightly twisted like a screw, so the shrub was named tornillo to match the pod shape.