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Glite Dictionary
tree surgery

tree surgery

4.9
Work to cut and care for damaged trees to keep them healthy
  • noun
  • /tri ˈsɜrdʒəri/
  • UK
translation icon : cirugía de árboles
  • The arborist performed tree surgery on the old oak to save it from disease.

Examples

  • Regular tree surgery can help extend the life of your backyard trees.

  • After the storm, the team of experts was called in for tree surgery to repair the damaged trees.

  • I once did some unlicensed tree surgery.

    Pretty Poison (1968)

Synonyms

arboriculture
vstree surgery
  • Specialized
9.3

Caring for and growing trees for parks and gardens

focuses on repair and treatment to restore health and lifespan

Surface Forms

tree surgery singular
tree surgeries plural

Morphology

tree + surgery

The meaning 'the practice of treating and repairing trees' is directly derivable from combining 'tree' (the plant) with 'surgery' (specialised treatment/operation), so a learner who knows both words can infer 'surgery for trees'. Although 'surgery' is primarily medical, its extension to specialised repair/treatment is compositional here and follows a regular noun–noun naming pattern, making the phrase immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Tree surgery comes from the idea of doing 'surgery' on a tree: workers cut away rotten branches and repair damage like a surgeon does to a patient. That's why tree surgery means 'treating and repairing' trees so they stay healthy.