sugar maple

noun

Definition of sugar maple

1 : a maple (Acer saccharum) of eastern North America with 3- to 5-lobed leaves, hard close-grained wood much used for cabinetwork, and sap that is the chief source of maple syrup and maple sugar

— called also rock maple, hard maple

2 : any of several maples (especially Acer nigrum and A. grandidentatum) often considered subspecies of the sugar maple

Examples of sugar maple in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In October, these gorges are typically packed with the yellow leaves of soaring sugar maples that light up like the sun — a striking contrast to the Virginia creeper that adds splashes of blood red to the sylvan surroundings. — Lori Rackl, chicagotribune.com, "A guide to catching fall colors at Indiana Dunes National Park: Where to eat, sleep and hike," 19 Aug. 2019 Reiser gathered leaves from eight different deciduous trees, species such as sassafras and sugar maple that shed their foliage annually, and took a photograph of each one every 30 to 60 seconds for up to three days. — Emily Toomey, Smithsonian, "Watch Leaves Change Color in a Matter of Seconds," 14 Aug. 2019 That climb was astonishing, the green sugar maples giving way to oversaturated orange and red as the altitude rose and the temperature dropped. — Kathleen Alcott, New York Times, "Letter of Recommendation: Find My Friends," 17 Apr. 2018 The court, made from sugar maple trees located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, is comprised of 397 pieces weighing 185 pounds apiece. — Cody Mccrary, San Antonio Express-News, "Final Four floor took nearly a year to prepare," 27 Mar. 2018 Maple Sugar Days Freezing nighttime temperatures in combination with thawing daytime temperatures are turning the sugar maple trees at Wehr Nature Center into maple-sap machines. — Bob Dohr, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wehr Nature Center set to host 42nd annual Maple Sugar Days," 19 Mar. 2018 Ebel said the company also owns 20 acres of land in Warrenville stocked with sugar maples and will partner with a friend in DeKalb who has an apple orchard to make a maple apply brandy. — David Sharos, Aurora Beacon-News, "Longtime craft beer company Two Brothers is now in the liquor game," 16 Mar. 2018 One of the remaining trees is a sugar maple that the couple has tapped in the past to get their own maple syrup. — Nate Owen, courant.com, "Property of the Week: 61 Dorset Lane, Farmington," 14 Sep. 2017 Aztecs tapped the sap of Hevea brasiliensis much as American Indians bled sugar maples for their sweet syrup. — Adrian Higgins, Washington Post, "A new rubber source could save water, preserve rain forests and even prevent allergic reactions," 12 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sugar maple.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.