up a tree
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noun
1.
a plant having a permanently woody main stem or trunk, ordinarily growing to a considerable height, and usually developing branches at some distance from the ground.
2.
any of various shrubs, bushes, and plants, as the banana, resembling a tree in form and size.
3.
something resembling a tree in shape, as a clothes tree or a crosstree.
4.
Mathematics, Linguistics, tree diagram.
5.
6.
a pole, post, beam, bar, handle, or the like, as one forming part of some structure.
8.
a saddletree.
9.
a treelike group of crystals, as one forming in an electrolytic cell.
10.
a gallows or gibbet.
11.
the cross on which Christ was crucified.
12.
Computers. a data structure organized like a tree whose nodes store data elements and whose branches represent pointers to other nodes in the tree.
13.
verb (used with object)
14.
to drive into or up a tree, as a pursued animal or person.
15.
Informal. to put into a difficult position.
16.
to stretch or shape on a tree, as a boot.
17.
to furnish (a structure) with a tree.
00:10
Up a tree
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
18.
up a tree, Informal. in a difficult or embarrassing situation; at a loss; stumped.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English trēo(w); cognate with Old Frisian, Old Norse trē, Old Saxon treo, Gothic triu; akin to Greek drŷs oak, Sanskrit, Avestan dru wood
before 900; Middle English; Old English trēo(w); cognate with Old Frisian, Old Norse trē, Old Saxon treo, Gothic triu; akin to Greek drŷs oak, Sanskrit, Avestan dru wood
Related forms
tree·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To up a tree
Collins
World English Dictionary
tree (triː) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | any large woody perennial plant with a distinct trunk giving rise to branches or leaves at some distance from the groundRelated: arboreal |
| 2. | any plant that resembles this but has a trunk not made of wood, such as a palm tree |
| 3. | a wooden post, bar, etc |
| 4. | family tree shoetree See saddletree |
| 5. | chem a treelike crystal growth; dendrite |
| 6. | a. a branching diagrammatic representation of something, such as the grammatical structure of a sentence |
| b. (as modifier): a tree diagram | |
| 7. | an archaic word for gallows |
| 8. | archaic the cross on which Christ was crucified |
| 9. | at the top of the tree in the highest position of a profession, etc |
| 10. | informal (US), (Canadian) up a tree in a difficult situation; trapped or stumped |
| —vb , trees, treeing, treed | |
| 11. | to drive or force up a tree |
| 12. | to shape or stretch (a shoe) on a shoetree |
| Related: arboreal | |
| [Old English trēo; related to Old Frisian, Old Norse trē, Old Saxon trio, Gothic triu, Greek doru wood, drus tree] | |
| 'treeless | |
| —adj | |
| 'treelessness | |
| —n | |
| 'treelike | |
| —adj | |
| Tree (triː) | |
| —n | |
| Sir Herbert Beerbohm. 1853--1917, English actor and theatre manager; half-brother of Sir Max Beerbohm. He was noted for his lavish productions of Shakespeare | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
tree
O.E. treo, treow "tree" (also "wood"), from P.Gmc. *trewan (cf. O.Fris. tre, O.S. trio, O.N. tre, Goth. triu), from PIE *deru-/*doru- "oak" (cf. Skt. dru "tree, wood," daru "wood, log;" Gk. drys "oak," doru "spear;" O.C.S. drievo "tree, wood;" Serb. drvo "tree," drva "wood;" Rus. drevo "tree, wood;"
Czech drva; Pol. drwa "wood;" Lith. derva "pine wood;" O.Ir. daur, Welsh derwen "oak," Albanian drusk "oak"). Importance of the oak in mythology is reflected in the recurring use of words for "oak" to mean "tree." In O.E. and M.E., also "thing made of wood," especially the cross of the Crucifixion and a gallows (cf. Tyburn tree, gallows mentioned 12c. at Tyburn, at junction of Oxford Street and Edgware Road, place of public execution for Middlesex until 1783). Sense in family tree first attested 1706; verb meaning "to chase up a tree" is from 1700. Tree-hugger, contemptuous for "environmentalist" is attested by 1989.
"Minc'd Pyes do not grow upon every tree,
But search the Ovens for them, and there they be."
["Poor Robin," Almanack, 1669]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
tree  (trē) Pronunciation Key
Any of a wide variety of perennial plants typically having a single woody stem, and usually branches and leaves. Many species of both gymnosperms (notably the conifers) and angiosperms grow in the form of trees. The ancient forests of the Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian periods of the Paleozoic Era were dominated by trees belonging to groups of seedless plants such as the lycophytes. The strength and height of trees are made possible by the supportive conductive tissue known as vascular tissue. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
tree definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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up a tree definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
up a tree
In a difficult situation, as in They found the drugs in his suitcase, so he was up a tree. This expression alludes to an animal, such as a raccoon or squirrel, that climbs a tree for refuge from attackers, which then surround the tree so it cannot come down. [Colloquial; early 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Nearby Words
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