mahogany
noun
ma·hog·a·ny
| \ mə-ˈhä-gə-nē
\
\
plural mahoganies
Definition of mahogany
1
: the wood of any of various chiefly tropical trees (family Meliaceae, the mahogany family):
a(1)
: the durable yellowish-brown to reddish-brown usually moderately hard and heavy wood of a West Indian tree (Swietenia mahagoni) that is widely used for cabinetwork and fine finish work
(2)
: a wood similar to mahogany from a congeneric tropical American tree (especially S. macrophylla)
b(1)
: the rather hard heavy usually odorless wood of any of several African trees (genus Khaya)
(2)
: the rather lightweight cedar-scented wood of any of several African trees (genus Entandrophragma) that varies in color from pinkish to deep reddish brown
2
: any of various woods resembling or substituted for mahogany obtained from trees of the mahogany family
3
: a tree that yields mahogany
4
: a moderate reddish brown
Examples of mahogany in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When the first gin palaces began to appear in London, in the eighteen-twenties, the public was dazzled by the Corinthian columns, mahogany counters, and gas lighting. — Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, "Briefly Noted," 3 Sep. 2019 The floors were walnut, and the custom mahogany doors were imported from Italy. — Taylor Kate Brown, SFChronicle.com, "Bay Briefing: Hailing a ride to the California ballot," 30 Aug. 2019 According to the Royal Collection Trust, the gilded mahogany couch was part of the furniture supplied to King George IV between 1827 and 1829 for the library, which is now the castle’s Green Drawing Room. — Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE.com, "All About Princess Diana and Meghan Markle's Royal Christening Couch Connection," 29 Aug. 2019 Her hair had turned out curlier than Nidhi’s subtle waves, her skin darker than Balaji’s mahogany. — Abhijith Ravinutala, chicagotribune.com, "2019 Algren Awards: Finalist: Definition(s)," 20 July 2019 Somebody came in recently with a beautiful mahogany sideboard and a beautiful antique sleigh bed. — Johanna Seltz, BostonGlobe.com, "At local swap shops, one person’s garden gnome is another’s treasure," 26 June 2019 The sleek 70 foot Herreshoff sailboat, the Ventura, was originally launched in 1921 and has been completely restored, with a solid mahogany hull and lustrous Indian teak decks. — Liz Cantrell, Town & Country, "The Mark Hotel's Private Sailboat is Officially Open for Summer," 6 June 2019 Laying out a minimum diameter by which rosewood can be cut legally, a standard that already exists for other precious woods, such as mahogany, Herrera says. — Carlos Duarte, National Geographic, "The fight to protect the world’s most trafficked wild commodity," 16 Aug. 2019 Interior features include radiant heating and mahogany paneling. — Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, "Willow Glen Eichler owners celebrate their place in national history," 11 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mahogany.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for mahogany
mahogany
noun
English Language Learners Definition of mahogany
: a strong reddish-brown wood that is used especially for making furniture and that comes from several tropical trees
also
: a tree that produces this wood
: a reddish-brown color
See the full definition for mahogany in the English Language Learners Dictionary
mahogany
noun
ma·hog·a·ny
| \ mə-ˈhä-gə-nē
\
\
plural mahoganies
Kids Definition of mahogany
: a strong reddish brown wood that is used especially for furniture and is obtained from several tropical trees
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