shrub

views updated May 29 2018

shrub¹ / shrəb/ • n. a woody plant that is smaller than a tree and has several main stems arising at or near the ground.DERIVATIVES: shrub·by adj.shrub² • n. 1. a drink made of sweetened fruit juice and liquor, typically rum or brandy. 2. a slightly acid cordial made from fruit juice and water.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

shrub

views updated May 29 2018

shrub A perennial woody plant, less than 10 m tall, which branches below or near ground level into several main stems, although it has no clear trunk. It may be deciduous (e.g. hawthorn) or evergreen (e.g. holly). At the end of each growing season there is no die-back of the aerial parts, apart from the loss of foliage. Compare HERB; SUBSHRUB; and TREE.

A Dictionary of Plant Sciences MICHAEL ALLABY

shrub

views updated May 18 2018

shrub(bush) A woody plant which branches below or near ground level into several main stems, so has no clear trunk. It may be deciduous (e.g. hawthorn) or evergreen (e.g. holly). At the end of each growing season there is no die-back of the axes. Compare herb; subshrub; and tree.

A Dictionary of Ecology MICHAEL ALLABY

shrub

views updated May 14 2018

shrub1 woody plant smaller than a tree. OE. sċrybb (evidenced Once), *sċrybb prob. ‘shrubbery, underwood’; cf. NFris. skrobb broom, brushwood, WFlem. schrobbe climbing wild pea or vetch, Norw. skrubba dwarf cornel, Da. dial. skrub brushwood. Cf. SCRUB2.
Hence shrubbery XVIII.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

shrub

views updated May 11 2018

shrub (bush) Woody, perennial plant that is smaller than a tree. Instead of having a main stem, a shrub branches at, or slightly above, ground level into several stems. Its hard stem distinguishes it from an herb.

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