hickory
noun
hick·o·ry
ˈhi-k(ə-)rē 
plural hickories
1
a
: any of a genus (Carya) of North American hardwood trees of the walnut family that often have sweet edible nuts
b
: the usually tough wood of a hickory
2
: a switch or cane (as of hickory wood) used especially for punishing a child
hickory
adjective
Examples of hickory in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Shades of fire and flame illuminate maples and hickories, while towering oaks and beeches change to copper before emptying their branches.
—
Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2024
The trees at higher elevations — including yellow birch and mountain maple — will begin to change as early as mid-September, but the most impressive display comes when the sugar maple, scarlet oak, and hickories, among other tree types, hit peak transformation in October.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2024
Listen to this article Patsy Hirsch and her husband moved to an Elgin subdivision nearly three decades ago, drawn by a backyard thicket of oak, hickory and cherry trees so dense the canopy blotted out the sun.
—Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2024
Early vaulters carried a rigid pole of ash or hickory that was heavy and didn’t bend.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for hickory 
Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2024
The trees at higher elevations — including yellow birch and mountain maple — will begin to change as early as mid-September, but the most impressive display comes when the sugar maple, scarlet oak, and hickories, among other tree types, hit peak transformation in October.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2024
Listen to this article Patsy Hirsch and her husband moved to an Elgin subdivision nearly three decades ago, drawn by a backyard thicket of oak, hickory and cherry trees so dense the canopy blotted out the sun.
—Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2024
Early vaulters carried a rigid pole of ash or hickory that was heavy and didn’t bend.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for hickory
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hickory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hickory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hickory. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hickory
noun
hick·o·ry
ˈhik-(ə-)rē
plural hickories
1
: any of a genus of North American trees related to the walnut and having an edible nut with a hard shell
2
: the usually tough pale wood of a hickory
Geographical Definition
Hickory
geographical name
Hick·o·ry
ˈhi-kə-rē
city in west central North Carolina population 40,010
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