white cedar

noun

any of several chiefly coniferous trees valued for their wood, especially Chamaecyparis thyoides, of the eastern U.S., or Thuja occidentalis (northern white cedar), of northeastern North America.
the wood of any of these trees.

Origin of white cedar

An Americanism dating back to 1665–75

Words nearby white cedar

white blood cells, white book, white bread, white bryony, white buck, white cedar, white chip, white chocolate, white cloud, white clover, white coal

Example sentences from the Web for white cedar

  • The road twined through a wood of over-arching beeches and maples, interspersed with the white-cedar and fir.

    Letters of a Traveller |William Cullen Bryant

  • For long he staggered under his heavy pack through thickets of scrub oak, white-cedar swamps, and tangles of greenthorn.

    Wild Folk |Samuel Scoville

British Dictionary definitions for white cedar

white cedar

noun

a coniferous tree, Chamaecyparis thyoides, of swampy regions in North America, having scalelike leaves and boxlike cones: family Cupressaceae See also cypress 1 (def. 2)
the wood of this tree, which is used for building boats, etc
a coniferous tree, Thuja occidentalis, of NE North America, having scalelike leaves: family Cupressaceae See also arbor vitae
the wood of this tree, much used for telegraph poles