What does sycamore mean?
Word: Sycamore
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Sycamore means a large tree with broad leaves shaped a little like an open hand.
How do you spell sycamore?
Syllables: syc - a - more
Tricky part: The first vowel is a y, not an i. Sicamore is by far the most common slip, as the y makes a short i sound here.
Watch out for: sicamore, sikamore
Memory tip: A y looks like a trunk with two branches, and this tree has one right near its start.
Sycamore in a sentence
Example 1: We ate our sandwiches in the shade of a huge sycamore.
Example 2: Squirrels chased each other up and down the old sycamore by the gate.
Example 3: The tallest tree in our school garden in the hills is a sycamore.
Fun Fact
Violin makers have long prized sycamore wood for the backs of their instruments, partly for its fine rippled grain.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Champ
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
syca____
a) maur
b) more
c) moor
d) mour
Show answer
b) more. The ending is spelt like the everyday word for a greater amount.
Jumble Tumble
Which option has letters that you can rearrange to form the name of a tree?
a) mycaeorsb
b) mycaeors
c) mycaeos
d) mycaeorp
Show answer
b) mycaeors. Only this set has the right eight letters; the others have a letter changed, added or missing.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its meaning:
1. banyan 2. sycamore 3. willow a. an Indian tree whose roots hang down from its branches b. a tree with thin, drooping branches, often beside water c. a shady tree whose winged seeds whirl to the ground
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
b) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
d) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
Show answer
d) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b. Hanging roots mean banyan, drooping branches mean willow, and whirling seeds mean the page word.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) sycamore
b) mahogony
c) chestnut
d) eucalyptus
Show answer
b) mahogony. The dark furniture wood is mahogany, with an a after the g.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What would you expect to find on a walk under sycamores in autumn?
a) clusters of ripe hanging mangoes
b) a carpet of broad fallen leaves
c) drifts of long pine needles
d) rows of tall flowering tulips
Show answer
b) a carpet of broad fallen leaves
2. A sycamore belongs in the same group as which plant?
a) oak
b) moss
c) tulip
d) fern
Show answer
a) oak
