bɝtʃ bɜːtʃ bɝtʃ bɜːtʃ ˈbɜːtʃ ˌtɹiː ˈbɝtʃ ˌtɹi whip with a birch twig consisting of or made of wood of the birch tree a switch consisting of a twig or a bundle of twigs from a birch tree; used to hit people as punishment my father never spared the birch any betulaceous tree or shrub of the genus Betula having a thin peeling bark hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood