Mesquite

UK: /mɛˈskiːt/

US: /mɛˈskit, ˈmɛskit/

US: 'mesquite': (me skēt′, mes′kēt); 'Mesquite': (me skēt′, mi-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

mes•quite or mes•quit /mɛˈskit, ˈmɛskit/   n. 

1. Plant Biology [countable] a spiny tree or shrub of W North America.
2. Plant Biology [noncount] the wood of such a tree or shrub.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mes•quite  (me skēt′, mes′kēt), n. 

1. Plant Biology any of several usually spiny trees or shrubs belonging to the genus Prosopis, of the legume family, as P. juliflora or P. glandulosa, of western North America, having bipinnate leaves and beanlike pods and often forming dense thickets.
2. Plant Biology the wood of such a tree or shrub, used esp. in grilling or barbecuing food.
3. Plant Biology any of various similar or related plants.

Also, mes•quit′. 

• Nahuatl mizquitl
• Mexican Spanish mezquite
• 1830–40, American.

Mes•quite  (me skēt′, mi-), n. 

1. Place Names a city in NE Texas, E of Dallas. 67,053.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mesquite, mesquit / mɛˈskiːt ˈmɛskiːt/ noun

1. any small leguminous tree of the genus Prosopis, esp the tropical American P. juliflora, whose sugary pods (mesquite beans) are used as animal fodder

Etymology: 19th Century: from Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mizquitl