tree

[ tree ]

/ tri /

noun

a plant having a permanently woody main stem or trunk, ordinarily growing to a considerable height, and usually developing branches at some distance from the ground.

any of various shrubs, bushes, and plants, as the banana, resembling a tree in form and size.

something resembling a tree in shape, as a clothes tree or a crosstree.

Mathematics, Linguistics. tree diagram.

family tree.

a pole, post, beam, bar, handle, or the like, as one forming part of some structure.

a shoetree or boot tree.

a saddletree.

a treelike group of crystals, as one forming in an electrolytic cell.

a gallows or gibbet.

the cross on which Christ was crucified.

Computers. a data structure organized like a tree whose nodes store data elements and whose branches represent pointers to other nodes in the tree.

Christmas tree.

verb (used with object), treed, tree·ing.

to drive into or up a tree, as a pursued animal or person.

Informal. to put into a difficult position.

to stretch or shape on a tree, as a boot.

to furnish (a structure) with a tree.

Idioms for tree

up a tree, Informal. in a difficult or embarrassing situation; at a loss; stumped.

Origin of tree

before 900; Middle English; Old English trēo(w); cognate with Old Frisian, Old Norse trē, Old Saxon treo, Gothic triu; akin to Greek drŷs oak, Sanskrit, Avestan dru wood

OTHER WORDS FROM tree

tree·like, adjective

Words nearby tree

treble staff, treblinka, trebuchet, trecento, tredecillion, tree, tree aster, tree creeper, tree cricket, tree diagram, tree ear

British Dictionary definitions for up a tree (1 of 2)

Tree

/ (triː) /

noun

Sir Herbert Beerbohm . 1853–1917, English actor and theatre manager; half-brother of Sir Max Beerbohm. He was noted for his lavish productions of Shakespeare

British Dictionary definitions for up a tree (2 of 2)

tree

/ (triː) /

noun

any large woody perennial plant with a distinct trunk giving rise to branches or leaves at some distance from the ground Related adjective: arboreal

any plant that resembles this but has a trunk not made of wood, such as a palm tree

a wooden post, bar, etc

See family tree, shoetree, saddletree

chem a treelike crystal growth; dendrite

a branching diagrammatic representation of something, such as the grammatical structure of a sentence
(as modifier)a tree diagram

an archaic word for gallows

archaic the cross on which Christ was crucified

at the top of the tree in the highest position of a profession, etc

up a tree US and Canadian informal in a difficult situation; trapped or stumped

verb trees, treeing or treed (tr)

to drive or force up a tree

to shape or stretch (a shoe) on a shoetree

Derived forms of tree

treeless, adjective treelessness, noun treelike, adjective

Word Origin for tree

Old English trēo; related to Old Frisian, Old Norse trē, Old Saxon trio, Gothic triu, Greek doru wood, drus tree

Scientific definitions for up a tree

tree

[ trē ]

Any of a wide variety of perennial plants typically having a single woody stem, and usually branches and leaves. Many species of both gymnosperms (notably the conifers) and angiosperms grow in the form of trees. The ancient forests of the Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian periods of the Paleozoic Era were dominated by trees belonging to groups of seedless plants such as the lycophytes. The strength and height of trees are made possible by the supportive conductive tissue known as vascular tissue.

Idioms and Phrases with up a tree (1 of 2)

up a tree

In a difficult situation, as in They found the drugs in his suitcase, so he was up a tree. This expression alludes to an animal, such as a raccoon or squirrel, that climbs a tree for refuge from attackers, which then surround the tree so it cannot come down. [Colloquial; early 1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with up a tree (2 of 2)

tree

see bark up the wrong tree; can't see the forest for the trees; talk someone's arm off (the bark off a tree); up a tree.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

tree

noun

verb (used with object), treed, tree·ing.

Idioms for tree

Origin of tree

OTHER WORDS FROM tree

Words nearby tree

British Dictionary definitions for up a tree (1 of 2)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for up a tree (2 of 2)

noun

verb trees, treeing or treed (tr)

Derived forms of tree

Word Origin for tree

Scientific definitions for up a tree

Idioms and Phrases with up a tree (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with up a tree (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

tree

noun

verb (used with object), treed, tree·ing.

Idioms for tree

Origin of tree

OTHER WORDS FROM tree

Words nearby tree

Words related to up a tree

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noun

British Dictionary definitions for up a tree (2 of 2)

noun

verb trees, treeing or treed (tr)

Derived forms of tree

Word Origin for tree

Scientific definitions for up a tree

Idioms and Phrases with up a tree (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with up a tree (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for up a tree (1 of 2)