Illustration of yew
- yew 1a
1
a
: any of a genus (Taxus of the family Taxaceae, the yew family) of evergreen gymnospermous trees and shrubs with stiff linear leaves and seeds surrounded by a fleshy red aril: such as
(1)
: a long-lived Eurasian tree or shrub (T. baccata)
called also English yew
(2)
: a low straggling bush (T. canadensis) of the eastern U.S. and Canada
(3)
b
: the wood of a yew
especially
: the heavy fine-grained wood of the English yew
2
archaic
: an archery bow made of yew
Examples of yew in a Sentence
a bow made of yew
Recent Examples on the Web
Hick’s yew grows to 18 to 20 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide in 20 years but it is more commonly maintained around 10 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide.
—
Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 14 May 2026
Be careful planting yew shrubs around children7 and animals8 because most parts of the plant are toxic if ingested.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Apr. 2026
The trunk of the yew will be left in place and turned into a bench sculpted by a local artist, while the wood will be cured and used in the future to create champion yew products.
—Siafa Lewis, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
The sprawling gardens surrounding the hotel, designed by Xavier de Chirac, complement the building’s majestic architecture—Irish yews, white hydrangeas, azaleas and rhododendrons, and Japanese maples, to name a few mainstays.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Apr. 2026
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Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 14 May 2026
Be careful planting yew shrubs around children7 and animals8 because most parts of the plant are toxic if ingested.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Apr. 2026
The trunk of the yew will be left in place and turned into a bench sculpted by a local artist, while the wood will be cured and used in the future to create champion yew products.
—Siafa Lewis, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
The sprawling gardens surrounding the hotel, designed by Xavier de Chirac, complement the building’s majestic architecture—Irish yews, white hydrangeas, azaleas and rhododendrons, and Japanese maples, to name a few mainstays.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for yew
Cite this Entry
“Yew.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yew. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
yew
noun1
: any of a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs that are gymnosperms with short stiff flattened needlelike leaves and seeds having a red juicy covering
2
: the wood of a yew
especially
: the heavy fine-grained wood of an Old World yew that is used especially for bows and small articles
Medical Definition
yew
noun
: any of a genus (Taxus of the family Taxaceae, the yew family) of evergreen trees and shrubs with stiff linear leaves and seeds surrounded by a fleshy red aril
especially
: one (T. brevifolia) of the Pacific coast of the United States and Canada whose bark yields the antineoplastic drug paclitaxel
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