noun
1. : any of numerous American oaks having four stamens in each floret, acorns that require two years to mature and that have the inner surface of the shell lined with woolly hairs, the acorn cap covered with thin scales, and leaf veins that usually run beyond the margin of the leaf to form bristles: as
a. : a large symmetrical oak ( Quercus borealis or Q. rubra ) that has large leaves with triangular spiny tipped lobes and medium-weight coarse-grained wood less durable than white oak and that is widely distributed in eastern No. America with the exception of the southern coastal region and piedmont — called also northern red oak
b. : a large round-topped oak ( Q. falcata or Q. rubra ) that has thin leaves with deeply sinuate lobes and wood similar to the northern red oak and that is widely distributed in eastern No. America from New Jersey to Illinois and southward — called also southern red oak, Spanish oak, turkey oak
2. : the wood of red oak