Meanings
plural slippery elms
- A North American elm tree of species Ulmus rubra, with a mucilaginous and slightly aromatic inner bark.
Mid-March 2021, at a bowling alley, I watch balls thunder down lanes and wonder if I’ve had a bowel movement since Presidents’ Day. I try: Miralax, Restoralax, magnesium citrate (liquid and powder), […] licorice root, slippery elm, beans, […].
2022 October 2, Cara Schacter, “My Year of Stress and Constipation”, in The New York TimesSynonyms: red elm, gray elm, soft elm, moose elm, Indian elm
- A malvaceous shrub from the Pacific coast of Northern America (Fremontodendron californicum)
Synonyms: California flannelbush, California fremontia, flannel flower
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA North American elm tree of species Ulmus rubra, with a mucilaginous and slightly aromatic inner bark.
nounA malvaceous shrub from the Pacific coast of Northern America (Fremontodendron californicum)
More synonyms by meaning
nounNorth American elm having rough leaves that are red when opening; yields a hard wood
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
slippery elm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slippery%20elm
“slippery elm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slippery%20elm. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “slippery elm,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slippery%20elm.
Source: slippery elm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.