blossom
noun
the flower of a plant, especially of one producing an edible fruit.
blossom
1 American
[blos-uhm]
/ ˈblɒs əm /
noun
Botany.
-
blossoms
plural
-
the flower of a plant, especially of one producing an edible fruit.
-
the state of flowering.
The apple tree is in blossom.
verb (used without object)
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blossoms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blossomed,
past participle, past
-
blossoming
present participle
Blossom
2
American
[blos-uhm]
/ ˈblɒs əm /
noun
blossom
British
/ ˈblɒsəm /
noun
-
the flower or flowers of a plant, esp conspicuous flowers producing edible fruit
-
the time or period of flowering (esp in the phrases in blossom, in full blossom )
verb
-
(of plants) to come into flower
-
to develop or come to a promising stage
youth had blossomed into maturity
Usage
What does blossom mean? In botany, a blossom is the flower of a plant, normally in its early stages and often referring to a flower that becomes edible fruit, such as apple and cherry blossoms. In botanical terms, a blossom is a flower that is attached to an edible fruit, such as a tomato blossom, or plant that is known for a product that is not the flower, like a cactus. Blossom also refers to the state of flowering, as in Washington, DC, looks lovely when all the cherry trees are in blossom. To blossom means to produce blossoms. When a plant is blossoming, it has produced flower buds that are in the process of producing petals and opening. Figuratively, to blossom means to flourish or to begin to succeed or develop. If someone tells you that you are blossoming into a good student, they mean you are getting better at your schoolwork or completing your schoolwork. Example: The cherry blossoms unfolding are always the best part of April.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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blossomingnoun
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outblossomverb (used with object)
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reblossomverb (used without object)
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blossomlessadjective
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blossomyadjective
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unblossomedadjective
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unblossomingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
blossomsimple
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blossomssimple
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have blossomedperfect
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has blossomedperfect
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am blossomingprogressive
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are blossomingprogressive
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is blossomingprogressive
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have been blossomingperfect progressive
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has been blossomingperfect progressive
Past
-
blossomedsimple
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had blossomedperfect
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was blossomingprogressive
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were blossomingprogressive
-
had been blossomingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blossom
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun blosme, blossem, Old English blōstm(a), blōsma “flower”; cognate with Middle Dutch bloesem, Middle Low German blosem, blossem; see bloom 1, blow 3
Explanation
The flowering part of a plant or tree that will form the seeds or fruit is called a blossom and synonyms include bloom and flower. The noun can also refer to the state of such flowering. You shouldn't miss cherry blossom time in Washington, D.C. As a verb, blossom means to produce flowers. Your favorite time of year may be spring, when all the trees blossom and the air is perfumed with their scent. The verb blossom also means to begin to flourish and develop. If you are a teenager, you might be waiting to blossom and feel confident in your personality and grow into your gangly limbs.
Vocabulary lists containing blossom
The Vernal Vocabulary of Spring
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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"The Song of Wandering Aengus" by W.B. Yeats
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Instead, she’s tinkering with the idea that Chicago might be her second city, a place where her artistic talents can fully blossom in a smaller market.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
"There's a lack of understanding on how they should behave... on how they could help their child to blossom into the athlete that they should become."
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Inevitable as Funches’ dismissal was, witnessing the quiet camaraderie blossom between him and Rausch was one of the kindest, warmest subplots of an especially ruthless season.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
We would all do well to tend our own garden, community or otherwise, but railing against the market at which we bought our seeds will not make it blossom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
We trod upon broken twigs, and last year's leaves, and here and there the fresh green stubble of the young bracken, and the shoots of the bluebells soon to blossom.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
The founder and chief executive of AI health startup Blossom was tired of moving around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
Graphic designer and fellow Blossom contributor Maya Kubota, 28, said that she appreciates people liking Japan and wanting to visit.
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
Taylor Swift’s sky may be opalite, but the starry blue hues in the new jewels of Louis Vuitton’s Color Blossom collection belong to sodalite.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
Maddie's first TikTok video about baby loss - which she posted with a trigger warning - shows her and her husband in the Blossom Suite, gently swaying with Teddy while tears stream down their faces.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2025
“Excuse me,” Mother Lois said, suddenly rising to her feet, interrupting Superintendent Blossom midsentence.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
"Cherry blossoms there are in flower now with the main spectacular rhododendron display to follow."
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
"We observed the cherry blossoms in full bloom on March 30," Kyoto Local Meteorological Office said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
It was spring, and I kept telling myself I would drive down to Washington one weekend to see the cherry blossoms.
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2026
Many tourists from around the world, in town to see the city’s famed cherry blossoms, watched protesters with curiosity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
In the summer it was a wild and beautiful place, bright with blooms and full of the smell of blackberry blossoms and purple clover.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
A notion that blossomed from an idealistic vision was Martinized into a cult-like excursion for the privileged.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
An article sparked an exchange on LinkedIn that blossomed into a romance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Henderson blossomed in six years under the tutelage of Carlisle's coaching staff and Manchester United signed him in 2015 at the age of 14.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Russian energy sales are the "most stable" part of a political, military and economic relationship that has blossomed between the two countries in recent years, Korolev said.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
The boys blinked, startled, for in a single moment an entire lesson—an entire class period of listening to Jillson drone on and on about bad government—had blossomed in their heads.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
As winter gave way to spring, I tracked the almost hourly change in blossoming trees beyond the fences, grateful to see the physical manifestation of new beginnings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
At Garcia’s shows, she says she constantly meets concertgoers from L.A., or even from San Diego, who drive hours into the I.E. to be part of its blossoming scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
With her high, bright soprano, Katrina Galka was a persuasive Clara—you believed in her emotional blossoming; tenor Roy Hage needed to be more of a crooner as Fabrizio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
The White House said the decor was inspired by English gardens, with the room featuring towering trees and blossoming boxes of lilac.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
General Peckem was blossoming spryly with cordiality again.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
