mistletoe

mistletoe — noun

1. a small evergreen plant that grows on the branches of trees, producing white ber

1.名詞B1
釋義

a small evergreen plant that grows on the branches of trees, producing white berries. At Christmas, people often hang it in their homes, and there is a tradition of kissing someone who stands under it.

例句

Kevin hung a sprig of mistletoe above the doorway before the Christmas party began.

collocation: sprig of mistletoe

Elena stood under the mistletoe, and Jude gave her a kiss on the cheek.

collocation: stand under the mistletoe

用法筆記

Usually uncountable — you say some mistletoe or a bunch of mistletoe, not a mistletoe. The phrase a sprig of mistletoe is the most common way to refer to one hanging piece. The kissing tradition is only associated with the Christmas holiday period.

常見錯誤

❌I bought a mistletoe for the party.
✅I bought a sprig of mistletoe for the party.
💡Mistletoe is uncountable, so you need a sprig of / a bunch of to refer to one piece.
❌She decorated the room with mistletoe and holly berries.' (confusing mistletoe's white berries with holly's red ones)
✅She decorated the room with mistletoe and holly.
💡Mistletoe has white berries, holly has red berries.