noun
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a bunch of flowers, esp a large carefully arranged one
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Also called: nose. the characteristic aroma or fragrance of a wine or liqueur
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a compliment or expression of praise
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bouquet
1710–20; < French: bunch, originally thicket, grove; Old French bosquet, equivalent to bosc wood (< Germanic; see bosk, bush 1) + -et -et
Explanation
A bouquet is an arrangement of flowers. A simple bouquet of flowers from your garden makes a lovely centerpiece for your table or a nice hostess gift when you are a guest. The word bouquet comes from the Old French term meaning "clump of trees." Because it would be difficult for a bride to lug a clump of trees down the aisle at her wedding, thankfully the word now means "a small bunch of arranged flowers." Bouquet can also describe the scent of these flowers, or anything that is a blend of scents, like perfume or wine.
Vocabulary lists containing bouquet
The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto
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"O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman
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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:
She didn’t even end up holding her bouquet in many pictures because she didn’t want it to cover her dress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Another sent an edible fruit bouquet from Australia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
A bottle of shampoo, cold medicine, a bouquet, a midnight snack, or even diapers can now arrive at an apartment door in roughly the time it takes to watch a sitcom.
From Barron's ● May 23, 2026
A seed shaker swaps the bouquet for something that actually grows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
When I was recovering from the surgery in the hospital, she visited me with a bouquet of flowers and a plastic container filled with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
A line of simple white crosses with small bouquets at their foot marked a long row of individual graves.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
Carrying bouquets of flowers, relatives arrived to identify their loved ones or receive their bodies for burial.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Crowds waved bouquets and flags before the Chinese leader arrived at the Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang, near giant portraits of the two leaders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Liverpool's key pair of power brokers were showered with bouquets in the summer.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
They were like white bouquets God had stuck in the stands of ancient oaks and hickories, glistening green in their own new growth.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
