bonsai
Americannoun
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a tree or shrub that has been dwarfed, as by pruning the roots and pinching, and is grown in a pot or other container and trained to produce a desired shape or effect.
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the art or hobby of developing and growing such a plant or plants.
noun
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the art of growing dwarfed ornamental varieties of trees or shrubs in small shallow pots or trays by selective pruning, etc
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a tree or shrub grown by this method
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bonsai
1945–50; < Japanese bon-sai tray planting < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese pén tray + zāi plant, shoot
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.
Developers, researchers, and other users can download PrismML’s open source 1-bit Bonsai 8B model free.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
PrismML’s Bonsai 8B model reduces memory to 1 gigabyte, boosts processing speeds by eight times, and raised $16.25 million.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
Another website, Bonsai Empire, lists bonsai clubs throughout the United States, some of which will accept bequeathed trees.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 11, 2024
A: On resources like the website Bonsai Nut one can find a wealth of information about caring for the miniature trees.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 11, 2024
Through the glass windows of the exit doors, I could see the headmaster, Mr. Bonsai, wrestling with the lode, a crowd of teachers piling up behind him.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
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.
