Meaning & use
thorn tree
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Meaning
nouncountable
Any tree that has sharp thorns on its branches or trunk, especially an acacia or a hawthorn.
Grammar: Often used for acacia trees in Africa: a lone thorn tree.
Patterns
- a thorn tree in something
A giraffe was reaching up to eat the leaves of a thorn tree.
We pitched our tent in the shade of a thorn tree.
Be careful walking under that thorn tree because the spikes are long.
Word forms
| plural | thorn trees |
|---|
Common combinations
- a lone thorn tree
- A lone thorn tree stood on the dry plain.
- shade of a thorn tree
- The herders rested in the shade of a thorn tree.
- prune a thorn tree
- Wear thick gloves when you prune a thorn tree.
- grow a thorn tree
- They decided to grow a thorn tree as a natural fence.
- thorn tree branch
- A cut from a thorn tree branch can be painful.
Synonyms and how they differ
- acacia
- Acacia is a specific group of trees and shrubs, while thorn tree is a general descriptive name that covers several kinds.
- hawthorn
- Hawthorn is a particular European tree with white blossom, whereas thorn tree could be any spiny tree.
- thornbush
- Thornbush is smaller and bushier, while thorn tree has a single trunk.
Word family
Commonly confused: thorn tree or thorn in the side?
thorn tree vs thorn in the side
This is an idiom for a constant source of annoyance and has nothing to do with the tree itself.
Practice
The giraffe was nibbling leaves from a ______ on the plain.
Choose one answer.
A thorn tree has sharp spines and fits an African plain scene. A family tree is a diagram of relatives, so it cannot be eaten from.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thorn tree”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.