n. A vascular tissue in land plants primarily responsible for the distribution of water and minerals taken up by the roots; also the primary component of wood.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. That portion of a fibrovascular bundle which has developed, or will develop, into wood cells; -- distinguished from phloëm.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. In botany, that part of a fibrovascular bundle which contains ducts or tracheids—that is, the woody part, as distinguished from the phloëm, or bast part. Compare phloëm. See protoxylem, leptoxylem.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. the woody part of plants: the supporting and water-conducting tissue, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels
Word Usage
"As more water vapor molecules exit the plant, the remaining water molecules tug on each other and will pull an entire column of water throughout the plant body through special tissues called xylem during the process of transpiration."