acorn
Americannoun
-
the typically ovoid fruit or nut of an oak, enclosed at the base by a cupule.
-
a finial or knop, as on a piece of furniture, in the form of an acorn.
noun
Other Word Forms
- acorned adjective
Etymology
Origin of acorn
before 1000; Middle English acorne (influenced by corn 1 ), replacing akern, Old English æcern, æcren mast, oak-mast; cognate with Old Norse akarn fruit of wild trees, Middle High German ackeran acorn, Gothic akran fruit, yield < Germanic *akrana-; alleged derivation from base of acre is dubious if original reference was to wild trees
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My eyes got as big as bur oak acorns.
From Literature
Other roots lowered to a small cupboard and grabbed a couple of mugs made from hollowed acorns the size of apples.
From Literature
Which is more interesting: the grand sweep of Russian history or the crunching sound of acorns underfoot?
“We have to make our own from anything with tannin — oak galls, acorns or black walnuts — and let it sit to dye it black.”
From Los Angeles Times
The drovers would forage along the way, picking berries, acorns and gleaning corn for the birds to eat.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
