chestnut blight

noun

: a destructive disease of the American chestnut and American chinquapins marked by cankers of the bark and cambium and caused by a fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica synonym Endothia parasitica) introduced into the U.S. from Asia in the early 1900s
Chestnut blight … quickly spread throughout the eastern states and by 1930, it destroyed virtually all mature chestnut trees. David Allen Sibley
Chestnut blight, a classic among plant diseases, is caused by an introduced fungus that has nearly eliminated its host … Sandra L. Anagnostakis
It has 17 canker-like sores, some as big around as a turkey platter, and thousands of "pycnidia"—the tiny, orange spore-cases that characterize spreading chestnut blight. Cindy Anderson
also : the fungus causing chestnut blight
Known as chestnut blight, it was first discovered in the New York Zoological Garden in 1904 and was soon carried throughout the country by wind, rain, birds, and other animals. Susan Freinkel

Examples of chestnut blight in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Other pests beyond the chestnut blight have entered the forest, too. Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 4 Oct. 2024 Floristic changes following the chestnut blight may be delayed for decades Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 4 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chestnut blight was in 1907

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Cite this Entry

“Chestnut blight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chestnut%20blight. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

chestnut blight

noun
: a destructive disease of the chestnut of the eastern U.S. caused by a fungus

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