1
: any of a genus (Betula of the family Betulaceae, the birch family) of monoecious deciduous trees or shrubs having simple petioled leaves and typically a layered membranous outer bark that peels readily
2
: the hard pale close-grained wood of a birch
3
: a birch rod or bundle of twigs for flogging
Synonyms
Examples of birch in a Sentence
Noun
a cabinet made of birch
In those days, schoolchildren got the birch when they misbehaved.
Verb
students at the private school were once routinely birched for violating the rules
always a stern disciplinarian, our father birched anyone who talked back
Recent Examples on the Web
Lindsay Curtis, Health, 24 Oct. 2024
Driving here takes you past a flip book of silver birch and lakes, pines and lakes.
—Rick Jordan, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Oct. 2024
Kerri Westenberg, Star Tribune, 11 Sep. 2020
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Noun
People with oral allergy syndrome (OAS) may develop a strawberry tongue after eating raw fruits or vegetables pollinated by grasses, birch trees, or ragweed.
—Lindsay Curtis, Health, 24 Oct. 2024
Driving here takes you past a flip book of silver birch and lakes, pines and lakes.
—Rick Jordan, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Oct. 2024
Verb
Find yellow aspen and birch along the shoreline and red maples inland.
—Kerri Westenberg, Star Tribune, 11 Sep. 2020
See all Example Sentences for birch
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Cite this Entry
“Birch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birch. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
birch
2 of 2 verb
: to whip with or as if with a birch
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