bayberry

[ bey-ber-ee, -buh-ree ]

noun,plural bay·ber·ries.
  1. any of several often aromatic trees or shrubs of the genus Myrica, as M. pensylvanica, of northeastern North America, and M. californica, of the western U.S.: Compare wax myrtle.

  2. the berry of such a plant.

Origin of bayberry

1
First recorded in 1570–80; bay4 + berry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bayberry in a sentence

  • A hardy Warbler which, like the Tree Swallow, can substitute bayberries for insects.

    What Bird is That? | Frank M. Chapman
  • The little boys had helped him, and he had gathered as much as a bushel of bayberries.

    The Peterkin Papers | Lucretia P Hale
  • It was strange how many bayberries it took to make a few candles!

    The Peterkin Papers | Lucretia P Hale
  • bayberry wax was a standard farm production wherever bayberries grew, and was advertised in New England papers until this century.

  • We're runnin' into the aidge of a hot wave naow, an' I can smell the bayberries.

    "Captains Courageous" | Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for bayberry

bayberry

bay

/ (ˈbeɪbərɪ) /


nounplural -ries
  1. any of several North American aromatic shrubs or small trees of the genus Myrica, that bear grey waxy berries: family Myricaceae: See also wax myrtle

  2. Also called: bay rum tree a tropical American myrtaceous tree, Pimenta racemosa, that yields an oil used in making bay rum

  1. the fruit of any of these plants

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012