willow

Study(13)

UK /ˈwɪl.əʊ/ US /ˈwɪloʊ/

noun 5name 4verb 2

Collocations

ADJ.

beautiful, black, drunk, huge, old, old, poplar, soaked

The old willow tree by the river had been there for over a hundred years.

VERB + WILLOW

bark, comes, leaves, makes, pine, uses, weaves, weeping

She uses willow branches to weave baskets for the garden.

WILLOW + NOUN

anatolian, ash, ashley, baskets, elm, oak, rods, tree

The willow baskets hung from hooks in the old garden shed.

PREP.

after, from, in, with

The children played happily in the willow tree by the river all afternoon.

Definitions

noun

Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs in the genus Salix, in the willow family Salicaceae, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the northern hemisphere.

[…] and through the middle of this forest, from wall to wall, ran a winding line of brilliant green which marked the course of cottonwoods and willows.

And willows, willow-herb, and grass, / And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry, / No whit less still and lonely fair / Than the high cloudlets in the sky.

The wood of these trees.

A cricket bat.

The baseball bat.

A rotating spiked drum used to open and clean cotton heads.

verb

To open and cleanse (cotton, flax, wool, etc.) by means of a willow.

To form a shape or move in a way similar to the long, slender branches of a willow.

Willowing over the rough cobbles of the little pier stepped a thin, bent figure, adorned with a silver nanny-goat's beard and bobbling eyes interrupted by the rim of a pair of pince-nez.

Joe’s impulse was to sketch her, with her shadow willowing beyond her on the mouse-gray paving-stone; but his left fist, obeying instinct, remained clenched behind his back […]

name

A female given name from English of modern usage.

Before he died her father had run a nursery just outside the town. He loved trees so much he'd even named his two daughters and one son after them: Willow, Ashley and Oak.

A census-designated place in Alaska.

A town in Oklahoma.

A town in Wisconsin.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

willow in the wind

One whose views are easily and regularly changed by the persuasion or influence of others.

[T]he CAB has rightfully seen Congress as a willow in the wind, bending to the wishes of whatever special interest groups and businesses speak loudest.

Example Bank

[…] and through the middle of this forest, from wall to wall, ran a winding line of brilliant green which marked the course of cottonwoods and willows.

Wiktionary

And willows, willow-herb, and grass, / And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry, / No whit less still and lonely fair / Than the high cloudlets in the sky.

Wiktionary

The pounded leaves of the willow, drunk in a concoction, were formerly reputed to diminish amatory desires.

Wiktionary

Willowing over the rough cobbles of the little pier stepped a thin, bent figure, adorned with a silver nanny-goat's beard and bobbling eyes interrupted by the rim of a pair of pince-nez.

Wiktionary

Joe’s impulse was to sketch her, with her shadow willowing beyond her on the mouse-gray paving-stone; but his left fist, obeying instinct, remained clenched behind his back […]

Wiktionary

It was floating a foot under the surface. The eyes were holes. The mouth was a slit cavern of darkness. The hair willowed around the scalp.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, willow is marked as slang, colloquial. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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