oak

noun

• 1 (also oak tree) a large tree which bears acorns and typically has lobed deciduous leaves. Oaks are dominant in many north temperate forests and are an important source of durable timber used in building, furniture, and (formerly) ships.

  • Genus Quercus, family Fagaceae: many species, including the deciduous common (or English) oak (Q. robur), and the evergreen holm oak
• [mass noun] a smoky flavour or nose characteristic of wine aged in barrels made from oak wood: scents of toasty oak [as modifier]:soft oak overtones
• chiefly Australian used in names of other trees or plants that resemble the oaks in some way, e.g. she-oak, silky oak.

• 2 (the Oaks) an annual flat horse race for three-year-old fillies run on Epsom Downs, over the same course as the Derby. It was first run in 1779.

  [named after a nearby estate]
• [usually with modifier] a flat horse race similar to the Oaks but run on another course:the Irish Oaks