# tree

Pronunciation: say "TREE" /tɹiː/

## Noun

1. A tall perennial plant with a woody trunk or main stem bearing branches and leaves well above the ground; loosely, a similar tall plant without true wood, such as a banana or tree fern.
   - Simple: A tall plant with a trunk, and branches or leaves high above the ground, such as an oak, palm or banana.
   - _A single tree stood at the center of the empty meadow._
   - _Loggers felled the trees that lined the ridge above the valley._
2. A branching diagram or display that shows how things are related, grouped, or divided into choices.
   - Simple: A drawing or list that branches out to show how things are linked, grouped, or chosen.
   - _The strategist sketched a tree showing how each decision led to new options._
   - _Each branch of the tree represented a different possible outcome._
3. In mathematics and computing, a branching structure of connected points with no loops, used to model hierarchies and to store data.
   - Simple: In maths and computing, a set of linked points that branch out like a tree, with no loops.
   - _The compiler builds a tree to represent the structure of the parsed program._
   - _Inserting a value into a balanced tree keeps later lookups efficient._
4. A stand or post with branching hooks, arms or platforms, such as a coat tree or a cat tree.
   - Simple: A tall stand with hooks or shelves sticking out, for hanging coats or for cats to climb.
   - _Guests left their coats on the hall tree near the entrance._
   - _She set up a tall cat tree by the window so the kittens could climb._
5. Marijuana, especially the dried plant used as a recreational drug. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Marijuana, the dried cannabis plant that people smoke.
   - _She rolled the last of the tree into a joint for the road._
   - _By midnight the room smelled of cheap tree and incense._
8. A shaped device inserted into a shoe to hold it open or stretch it.
   - Simple: A shaped device put inside a shoe to keep it open and hold its shape.
   - _He slid a pair of shoe trees into his new loafers to keep the toes from creasing._
   - _Slide the tree in toe-first so it fills the front of the shoe._

## Verb

7. To chase an animal or person until it is forced to climb a tree for safety.
   - Simple: To chase an animal or person until they climb up into a tree to escape.
   - _The hunting dogs treed the bobcat high in a tall pine._
   - _Good hounds can tree a bear and hold it there until the hunters arrive._
9. To take refuge by climbing up into a tree.
   - Simple: To climb up into a tree to escape danger.
   - _Hunted animals often tree when the dogs draw near._
   - _The bobcat treed and waited for the hounds to lose interest._
10. To put or place an object in a tree.
   - Simple: To put or set something up into a tree.
   - _The children treed their kites by accident and couldn't get them down._
   - _A mother black bear will tree her cubs at the first sign of danger._
11. To fit, stretch, or hold a shoe on a shoe tree so that it keeps or regains its shape.
   - Simple: To put a shaped block inside a shoe so it keeps its form.
   - _Leave time to tree your boots before putting them away for the season._
   - _The valet trees every guest's shoes so the leather holds its shape overnight._

## Noun

6. A cross or gallows, especially as an instrument of execution. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A wooden cross or gallows used to put someone to death.
   - _Highwaymen were hanged on the tree at Tyburn before huge crowds._
   - _Preachers reminded the faithful that their Lord suffered on the tree._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The rigid frame, traditionally of wood, on which a saddle is built.
- (noun) A mass of crystals grown in branching, tree-like forms, produced when a metal is precipitated from solution.
- (noun) The fifth card of the Lenormand deck, used in cartomancy.

## Origin

"Tree" comes from Middle English "tre, tree" and Old English "trēow" (meaning tree, wood, timber, beam, or cross), from Proto-West Germanic *treu and Proto-Germanic *trewą ("tree, wood"), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European noun *dóru ("tree"). Cognates include Icelandic "tré," Swedish "trä," Sanskrit "dāru," and Ancient Greek "dóru," and it is related to English "tar" and "true."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/tree (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).