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tree verb Of a hunted animal: to seek refuge, especially but not necessarily in a tree; of a hunter or hunting dog: to corner or drive (a hunted animal) to seek refuge, especially but not necessarily in a tree, and to guard (it).

1865 Hill CW Letters (Jan 6) tel dock he must lern his dog to tree possoms and Squirles So that me and him can go hunting when I get home. 1913 Kephart Our Sthn High 81 Finally [the bear] gits so tired and het up that he trees to rest hisself. 1939 Hall Coll (Smokemont NC) Dogs struck. Down the creek they went about a mile and a half, treed in the cliffs. 1953 Hall Coll (Deep Creek NC) A bear will tree just as quick as a possum at night. 1970 Hunting 16 A hunter would ... follow his dogs as best he could when they “struck,” and when they had “treed” (which could be in any place from a hole in the ground to a rock cliff to the top of a real tree) he’d hurry to the spot, call the dogs off, and make his kill.