cedar

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablebiology

   A tall evergreen cone-bearing tree with spreading branches, flat needles in clusters, and sweet-smelling wood that lasts for a long time.

   Grammar: Countable for the tree: a cedar, tall cedars.

   Patterns

   • a cedar of Lebanon
   • a grove of cedars

   A huge cedar shaded the whole front lawn.

   Cedars of Lebanon can live for over a thousand years.

   We walked through a grove of cedars on the mountain trail.

2. 2noununcountable

   The reddish, scented wood of this tree, used for chests, closet linings, fences and roofing shingles.

   Grammar: Uncountable as a material: a chest made of cedar.

   Patterns

   • made of cedar
   • line something with cedar

   Grandmother stored the wool blankets in a chest of cedar.

   The deck is built from cedar because it resists rot.

   The scent of fresh cedar filled the workshop.

Word forms

Common combinations

cedar chest

She kept her wedding dress in a cedar chest.

cedar closet

A cedar closet keeps moths away from sweaters.

cedar shingles

The cottage roof was covered in weathered cedar shingles.

cedar forest

A cedar forest once covered these hills.

cedar scent

The cedar scent lingered in the cabin long after we left.

Synonyms and how they differ

conifer

Conifer names the whole group of cone-bearing trees, whereas cedar is one specific kind.

evergreen

Evergreen describes any tree that keeps its leaves all year, so it is wider than cedar.

pine

Pine is a different conifer with long needles in bundles, and its wood is usually paler and less aromatic.

Word family

cedarwood noun

The wood of the cedar, also used for the oil taken from it.

cedary adjective

Smelling or looking like cedar.

Commonly confused: cedar or cider? cedar or cypress?

Practice

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