dogwood

noun

dog·​wood ˈdȯg-ˌwu̇d How to pronounce dogwood (audio)
: any of various trees and shrubs (genus Cornus of the family Cornaceae, the dogwood family) with clusters of small flowers and often large white, pink, or red involucral bracts

Examples of dogwood in a Sentence

The furniture is made of dogwood.
Recent Examples on the Web All plants that bloom in the spring, from dogwoods and azaleas, to tulip magnolias, forsythia, redbuds, and flowering quince have their flower buds set now, or are finishing up setting them. Janet B. Carson, arkansasonline.com, 13 Oct. 2024 The horse came closer, stepping daintily, carefully, into the flower bed by the dogwood tree. Matthew Klam, The New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2024 Picture these South Louisville neighborhoods being gradually hugged by a growing mix of pines, hollies, arborvitaes, magnolias, dogwoods, oaks, and more. Bill Frist, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024 These include maples, pines, dogwoods, and other landscape favorites. Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for dogwood 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dogwood.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dogwood was in 1598

Dictionary Entries Near dogwood

Cite this Entry

“Dogwood.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dogwood. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

dogwood

noun
dog·​wood ˈdȯg-ˌwu̇d How to pronounce dogwood (audio)
: any of various trees and shrubs having clusters of small flowers often surrounded by four showy leaves that look like petals

Medical Definition

dogwood

noun
dog·​wood ˈdȯ-ˌgwu̇d How to pronounce dogwood (audio)
: any tree or shrub of the genus Cornus

More from Merriam-Webster on dogwood

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