acorn

noun

ˈā-ˌkȯrn  -kərn 

: the nut of the oak usually seated in or surrounded by a hard woody cupule of indurated bracts

Illustration of acorn

Examples of acorn in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The starch grains originate from various plant sources, such as acorns, grass grains, water chestnuts, yellow water lily rhizomes (a type of underground plant stem) and legume seeds. —Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025

California ground squirrels are known to mostly eat acorns, seeds, nuts and fruit, sometimes supplementing their diet with insects and bird eggs. —Michael Irving, New Atlas, 22 Dec. 2024

Squirrels mainly consume acorns, seeds, nuts, and fruits, but they have been known to supplement that diet with insects and, occasionally, by stealing eggs or young hatchlings from nests. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 18 Dec. 2024

The rodent-like purple creature has a tendency to store everything from acorns to magical devices inside his deceptively big cheeks – a habit that was born from one of Ramirez’s early drawings. —Katcy Stephan, Variety, 23 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English akorn, akkorn (partially assimilated to corn "kernel, corn entry 1"), hakerne, accherne, accharne, going back to Old English æcern, going back to Germanic *akrana- (whence also Middle High German ackeran "tree nuts," Old Norse akarn, Gothic akran "fruit, produce"); akin to Old Irish írne "sloe, kernel," Welsh eirin "plums, sloes," aeron "fruits, berries," going back to Celtic *agrinyo-, *agranyo-; perhaps further akin to a Balto-Slavic word with an initial long vowel (Old Church Slavic agoda "fruit," Polish jagoda "berry," Lithuanian úoga)

Note: Taken to be a derivative of Indo-European *h₂eǵros "uncultivated field, pasture" (see acre), though this would seem to exclude the Balto-Slavic etymon, which lacks the suffix, from consideration. It is also not clear if fields, uncultivated or not, are the source of wild tree nuts.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing acorn

• acorn squash
• acorn woodpecker
• acorn worm

Kids Definition

acorn

noun

ˈā-ˌkȯrn  -kərn 

: the roundish one-seeded thin-shelled nut of an oak tree usually having a woody cap