make like a tree and leave

verb

"make-like-a-tree-and-leave" is a 21-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“make like a tree and leave” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
26
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To leave, depart.

Corpus desk

Index EN-make-like-a-tree-and-lea · make like a tree and leave · English

make like a tree and leave · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 26 letters
  • VOW-11 11 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "M" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for make like a tree and leave
PropertyValue
Headwordmake like a tree and leave
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters26
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “make like a tree and leave” in English

make like a tree and leavesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

make like a tree and leave is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To leave, depart.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for make like a tree and leave in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: A pun on leave (“depart”) and leave (“produce leaves”) (or its more common variant, leaf). The correct English form is make like a tree and leave, spelled M-A-K-E- -L-I-K-E- -A- -T-R-E-E- -A-N-D- -L-E-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To leave, depart.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how make like a tree and leave appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. See ya' later Pete, I'm making like a tree and leaving.
  2. After all the needed malware files have been installed and all the necessary changes to the system have been made to facilitate malware persistency, the malware installer makes like a tree and leaves. Since the job of the malware installer is done, there is no more need for it to linger in the system.

Etymology

A pun on leave (“depart”) and leave (“produce leaves”) (or its more common variant, leaf).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "make like a tree and leave"?
"make like a tree and leave" is spelled M-A-K-E- -L-I-K-E- -A- -T-R-E-E- -A-N-D- -L-E-A-V-E.
What does "make like a tree and leave" mean?
As a verb, "make like a tree and leave" means: To leave, depart.
What is the origin of the word "make like a tree and leave"?
A pun on leave (“depart”) and leave (“produce leaves”) (or its more common variant, leaf). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list