Illustration of live oak
- live oak a
: any of several American evergreen oaks: such as
a
: a medium-sized oak (Quercus virginiana) of southeastern North America often cultivated as a shelter and shade tree and noted for its extremely hard tough durable wood
b
: any of several oaks of the western U.S. with evergreen foliage and hard durable wood
Examples of live oak in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Browse the Thomasville walkable downtown collections of shops and boutiques and stop for a quiet, contemplative moment beneath one of the South’s oldest live oaks.
—
Kelsey Glennon, Southern Living, 13 July 2025
Uprooted cypress and live oak trees littered the park.
—Rick Jervis, USA Today, 8 July 2025
On Saturday morning, the volunteers spent hours pulling up the black mustard, focusing on a patch of land with five large coast live oaks.
—Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2025
Shumaker’s 3-run shot easily cleared the right center field wall and knocked down a sizable chunk of Spanish moss hanging from a live oak to give the Gators a 7-3 lead.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for live oak
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Kelsey Glennon, Southern Living, 13 July 2025
Uprooted cypress and live oak trees littered the park.
—Rick Jervis, USA Today, 8 July 2025
On Saturday morning, the volunteers spent hours pulling up the black mustard, focusing on a patch of land with five large coast live oaks.
—Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2025
Shumaker’s 3-run shot easily cleared the right center field wall and knocked down a sizable chunk of Spanish moss hanging from a live oak to give the Gators a 7-3 lead.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for live oak
Cite this Entry
“Live oak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/live%20oak. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
live oak
noun
: any of several American oaks with evergreen leaves and hard durable wood
especially
: one of the southeastern U.S. that is grown for its shelter and shade and formerly much used in building ships
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