dogwood

noun

dog·​wood ˈdȯg-ˌwu̇d 

: any of various trees and shrubs (genus Cornus of the family Cornaceae, the dogwood family) with clusters of small flowers and often large white, pink, or red involucral bracts

Examples of dogwood in a Sentence

The furniture is made of dogwood.

Recent Examples on the Web

At the center is a towering dogwood tree — a reminder of her favorite trips to the Sierra mountains and a sobering measure of how long she's been gone. —Natalie Morales, CBS News, 15 Feb. 2025

Magnificent Trees Our region is often defined by its abundance of trees, including sprawling live oaks, confetti-throwing crepe myrtles, spring-blooming dogwoods, sky-high longleaf pines, and waxy-leafed magnolias. —Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2025

Some dogwood, species, also held steadfastly onto their leaves. —Sheryl De Vore, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2025

The understory of the ponderosa and sugar pine forest was speckled with manzanita, oak trees and dogwoods with yellow leaves, marking the start of fall. —Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dogwood

• flowering dogwood

Rhymes for dogwood

• allgood
• basswood
• beechwood
• bellwood
• birchwood
• boxwood
• boyhood
• brushwood
• childhood
• cordwood
• driftwood
• falsehood

Kids Definition

dogwood

noun

dog·​wood ˈdȯg-ˌwu̇d 

: any of various trees and shrubs having clusters of small flowers often surrounded by four showy leaves that look like petals

Medical Definition

dogwood

noun

dog·​wood ˈdȯ-ˌgwu̇d 

: any tree or shrub of the genus Cornus