Meaning & use
ilexes
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“ilexes” is a form of “ilex”.
Meanings
nounpluralbiology
Trees or shrubs of the holly group, known for glossy leaves and often red berries.
Grammar: Plural of ilex: several ilexes grew by the wall.
Patterns
- the ilexes in a garden
Several ilexes line the old garden wall.
The nursery sells ilexes with both red and yellow berries.
Birds shelter in the ilexes during the winter.
nounpluralrare
Holm oaks, evergreen oak trees of the Mediterranean region.
Grammar: Plural of ilex in this older sense; context shows which tree is meant.
Patterns
- ilexes of the Mediterranean
Dark ilexes covered the hills above the village.
The road ran between groves of ilexes.
Shepherds rested in the shade of the ilexes.
Common combinations
- evergreen ilexes
- The evergreen ilexes stayed green all winter.
- planted ilexes
- We planted ilexes along the fence.
- ilexes in berry
- The ilexes in berry brightened the cold garden.
- grove of ilexes
- They walked through a grove of ilexes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hollies
- Hollies is the everyday word for the same trees, while ilexes is botanical.
- evergreens
- Evergreens covers any tree that keeps its leaves, so it is broader than ilexes.
- holm oaks
- Holm oaks refers only to the oak sense, not the hollies.
Word family
- ilex noun
- the singular, a holly or holm oak
- ilices noun
- the Latin-style plural
- aquifoliaceae noun
- the botanical family of hollies
Commonly confused: ilexes or illicit?
ilexes vs illicit
Illicit means illegal or forbidden and is unrelated to the plant despite looking similar in writing.
Practice
What are ilexes?
Choose one answer.
Ilexes is the plural of ilex, which names holly-type plants. The other choices have no connection with plants.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ilexes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.