noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The bead tree or azedarach, Melia azedarach, a deciduous tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae, native to India, southern China and Australia, or its fruit. US
2. 2
   tree of northern India and China having purple blossoms and small inedible yellow fruits; naturalized in the southern United States as a shade tree wordnet
3. 3
   The soapberry (genus Sapindus, especially Sapindus saponaria), native to the Americas. US

   "‘The toilet is out back directly behind the chinaberry tree.’"

4. 4
   evergreen of tropical America having pulpy fruit containing saponin which was used as soap by Native Americans wordnet
5. 5
   Actaea rubra, a poisonous herbaceous flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to North America. US

Synonyms

All synonyms

azedarachpersian lilacazedarachazederachbakainbead tree

Example

More examples

"‘The toilet is out back directly behind the chinaberry tree.’"

Etymology

From China + berry.

Related phrases

bead treemelia azedarach

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.