cockscomb
Americannoun
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the cap, resembling a cockscomb, formerly worn by professional fools.
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a garden plant, Celosia cristata, of the amaranth family, with flowers, commonly crimson or purple, in a broad spike somewhat resembling the comb of a cock.
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any of several other species of the genus Celosia.
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an elongate prickleback, Anoplarchus purpurescens, living among submerged rocks along the Pacific coast of North America.
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a gaslight burner having four or more jets.
noun
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the comb of a domestic cock
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an amaranthaceous garden or pot plant, Celosia cristata, with yellow, crimson, or purple feathery plumelike flowers in a broad spike resembling the comb of a cock
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any similar species of Celosia
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informal a conceited dandy
Etymology
Origin of cockscomb
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at cock 1, 's 1, comb
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.
Local resident and short-term rental owner Cat Sullivan said the Dawa and Cockscomb trails, on Sedona’s northern edge near Dry Creek, “don’t get overrun with people.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2023
And at any time of the year, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary just outside of Placencia offers the best chance to see jaguars, which are more highly concentrated in Belize than anywhere else in the world.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 14, 2021
Impossible’s first burger, built around wheat protein, launched in 2016, at four high-end restaurants: Cockscomb and Jardinière, in San Francisco; Crossroads Kitchen, in Los Angeles; and Momofuku Nishi, in New York.
From The New Yorker • Sep. 23, 2019
Likewise, on his menu at Cockscomb in San Francisco, chef Chris Cosentino offers berbere-spiced carrots with charred dates and labneh.
From Washington Post • May 15, 2017
At one spot termed the Cockscomb the traveller stands insulated as it were on a small slip where a false step might precipitate him into the glen.
From The Journey to the Polar Sea by Franklin, John
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.
