red oak

noun

1

: any of various North American oaks (such as Quercus rubra and Quercus falcata) that have acorns with the inner surface of the shell lined with woolly hairs, the acorn cap covered with thin scales, and leaf veins that usually run beyond the margin of the leaf to form bristles

2

: the wood of a red oak

Examples of red oak in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Warm Oak Cabinets Are Back—and More Modern Than Ever Best Wall Colors for Wood Cabinets with Red Undertones To balance ruddy brown tones in cherry and red oak cabinetry, designer Sarah Kahn Turner of Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath goes for warm, saturated colors tempered with gray. —Monika Biegler Eyers, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 June 2025

Though all types of wood tested had some antibacterial effect, some woods (red oak and white oak) were better at removing Listeria, while others (European beech) were better at removing Salmonella, according to the 2023 study. —Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025

Recent bumper crop years occurred in red oaks in 2016 and 2019, and in 2015 for white oaks. —Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 5 May 2025

But there are carefully restored, spiral red oak staircases to take you to your rooms. —Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 5 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for red oak

• awoke
• baroque
• bespoke
• colloque
• convoke
• evoke
• invoke
• keystroke
• kinfolk
• kinsfolk
• menfolk
• provoke

Kids Definition

red oak

noun

1

: any of various North American oaks with acorns that take two years to mature and leaves with bristles on the edge

2

: the wood of a red oak