holly

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   An evergreen tree or bush with shiny, sharp-edged leaves and red berries.

   Grammar: Countable when talking about individual plants (a holly, two hollies); uncountable when referring to the wood or branches used as material (made of holly).

   Patterns

   • a holly tree
   • holly berries
   • made of holly

   They planted a holly in the front garden so there would be color in winter.

   The Christmas wreath was decorated with sprigs of holly and pine cones.

   The old walking stick was carved from holly.

2. 2noununcountable

   The branches, leaves, and berries of this plant, used as a winter decoration.

   Grammar: Used as a mass noun for the decorative material; no plural form in this sense.

   Patterns

   • decorate with holly
   • a sprig of holly
   • holly and ivy

   We hung holly above the fireplace every December.

   The card showed a robin perched on a branch of holly.

Word forms

Common combinations

holly tree

A tall holly tree stood at the end of the lane.

holly bush

The birds hid in the dense holly bush.

holly berries

Bright red holly berries stood out against the snow.

sprig of holly

She tucked a sprig of holly into the ribbon.

holly wreath

A holly wreath hung on the front door.

Synonyms and how they differ

evergreen

A general word for any plant that keeps its leaves all year; holly is one specific kind.

Word family

hollies noun

Plural of holly, used for more than one tree or bush.

Commonly confused: holly or holy?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “holly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words