yew

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1. yews: evergreen tree with poisonous needles; wood of yew tree; bow made of yew wood (Archaic)
2. Lee Kuan Yew, yews: born September 16, 1923, Singapore; Prime minister of Singapore (1959–90). Born to a wealthy Chinese family, Lee studied at the University of Cambridge and became a lawyer and a socialist. He worked as a legal adviser to labour unions and won election to Singapore's legislative council in 1955, while the country was still a British crown colony. He helped Singapore achieve self-government and, running as an anticolonialist and anticommunist, was elected prime minister in 1959. His numerous reforms included the emancipation of women. He briefly entered Singapore in the Federation of Malaysia (1963–65); on its withdrawal, Singapore became a sovereign state. Lee industrialized the country and made Singapore the most prosperous nation in Southeast Asia. He achieved both labour peace and a rising standard of living for workers, though his mildly authoritarian government at times infringed on civil liberties.; Lee Kuan Yew; Keystone
3. yews: Any of about eight species of ornamental evergreens in the genus Taxus, family Taxaceae (the yew family), distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Two species are always shrubby, but the others may reach heights of 77 ft (25 m). The plants have many branches, covered with needlelike leaves. Yew wood is hard, fine-grained and heavy, with white or creamy sapwood and amber to brown heartwood. Once popular for cabinetwork, implements and archery bows, it is used more today for articles either carved or turned on a lathe. Other trees called yew but not in this family are the plum-yew (family Cephalotaxaceae) and Prince Albert yew (family Podocarpaceae).
4. any tree or shrub of the genus Taxus (family Taxaceae), approximately eight species of ornamental evergreens, distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Other trees called yew but not in this genus are the plum-yew, Prince Albert yew and stinking yew. Two species are always shrubby, but the others may become trees up to 25 metres (about 80 feet) tall. Yews have rich, dark-green foliage. The branches are erect or spreading and are closely covered with flattened, linear leaves about 1/2 to 3 centimetres (about 1/5 to 1 1/5 inches) long. The leaves have two yellowish- or grayish-green bands along the underside. They are attached in spirals around the branch but, because of a twist at their bases, appear to grow in two rows along the sides of the branch. The reproductive structures, small, rounded, scaly and conelike on male plants and minute, green and solitary on female plants, are located between the leafstalk and the stem. The seeds are usually solitary, borne at the ends of short branches. As a seed matures, it is enveloped by a fleshy, red, cup-shaped aril. The foliage and seeds, but not the arils, contain a poisonous alkaloid, sometimes fatal to livestock. The many horticultural varieties of yews differ primarily in growth habit. Yew trees grow slowly but are long-lived and only moderately susceptible to attack by pests. Yew wood is hard, fine-grained and heavy, with white or creamy sapwood and amber to brown heartwood. The lumber was once popular for cabinetwork, implements and archery bows; it is used more today for carved articles and turnery.
5. (n) an evergreen tree with flattened, needle-like leaves and small red cones, or the wood from this tree In Britain you often see yews in churchyards. A large bowl made from yew stood on the table. See picture: Trees