n. 1 any tree or shrub of the genus Quercus usu. having lobed leaves and bearing acorns. 2 the durable wood of this tree, used esp. for furniture and in building. 3 (attrib.) made of oak (oak table). 4 a heavy outer door of a set of university college rooms. 5 (the Oaks) (treated as sing.) an annual race at Epsom for three-year-old fillies (from the name of a nearby estate). oak-apple (or -gall) an apple-like gall containing larvae of certain wasps, found on oak trees. oaken adj.
[ OE ac f. Gmc ]