sweet gum
nounDefinition of sweet gum
1
: a North American tree (Liquidambar styraciflua) of the witch-hazel family with palmately lobed glossy green leaves, corky twigs, a round spiny brown fruit cluster, and hard wood
2
: the smooth reddish-brown wood of the sweet gum
Illustration of sweet gum
sweet gum 1
Examples of sweet gum in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Also, most sweet gums and sycamores sustain minimal damage. — Tom Maccubbin, orlandosentinel.com, "Hurricane Dorian reminder to check your trees for removal," 4 Sep. 2019 OpenLands also has been planting types of trees native to regions just south of the Great Lakes, such as Kentucky coffee tree and sweet gum, as a response to climate change. — Frank Vaisvilas, Daily Southtown, "The ash trees are gone and maples are in decline, Homewood boosts its canopy with new oaks, beech trees," 7 June 2019 Graceful river birch and sweet gum trees frame the house. — Sally A. Downey, Philly.com, "In Lower Gwynedd, a renovated bungalow to grow old in," 5 Feb. 2018 Also, most sweet gums and sycamores sustain minimal damage. — Tom Maccubbin, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Hurricane Irma: Old trees can be hazardous to your home," 7 Sep. 2017 My durable tree list includes live oaks, sweet gums, crape myrtles, magnolias, sycamores, ligustrums, winged elms, bald cypress and most palms. — Tom Maccubbin, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Hurricane Irma recovery: Uprooted trees a common occurrence after storms," 22 Sep. 2017 The canister burst during the decontamination process after Apollo 14 returned to Earth, mixing the hundreds of redwood, pine, sycamore, Douglas fir and sweet gum seeds. — Emre Kelly, USA TODAY, "Irma topples NASA's 'Moon Tree' that flew on Apollo 14," 21 Sep. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sweet gum.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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