beach plum

noun

: a shrubby plum (Prunus maritima) having white flowers and growing chiefly along the northeastern coast of North America
also : its edible usually dark purple fruit that is used especially in preserves

Examples of beach plum in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Insects, crustaceans, bayberries and beach plums await the roughly one million birds that rest here before continuing south. Adam Erace, WSJ, 12 Oct. 2023 Native plants like bluestem grass, bayberry, and beach plum were cultivated to give texture and guide the sight lines. Chloe Schama, Vogue, 2 Mar. 2023 Christmas points to the unique nature of the beach plum as a driving force. Emily Lytle, baltimoresun.com, 13 Sep. 2021 Cranberry and beach plum picking in Newburyport and Plum Island draws crowds every year, but the US Fish and Wildlife Service wants to remind people that only 50 permits are available. Annika Hom, BostonGlobe.com, 5 July 2019 Fifty free permits for picking beach plums and cranberries are available in the lottery. Morgan Hughes, BostonGlobe.com, 13 July 2018 Image Josephine’s Feast, a Brooklyn producer of preserves and condiments made mostly from local ingredients (even foraged beach plums), has welcomed summer with a fragrant new flavor, strawberries and pink Champagne. New York Times, 21 May 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beach plum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1741, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of beach plum was in 1741

Dictionary Entries Near beach plum

Cite this Entry

“Beach plum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beach%20plum. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

beach plum

noun
: a shrubby plum with showy flowers that grows along the Atlantic coast of the northern U.S. and Canada
also : its dark purple fruit often used in preserves
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