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cornflower

American  
[kawrn-flou-er] / ˈkɔrnˌflaʊ ər /

noun

  • cornflowers
    plural
  1. Also called bachelor's-button, bluebottle.  a European composite plant, Centaurea cyanus, growing in grainfields, having blue to white flower heads, often cultivated as an ornamental.

  2. Also called cornflower blue.  a deep, vivid blue.

  3. corn cockle.

  4. strawflower.


cornflower British  
/ ˈkɔːnˌflaʊə /

noun

  1. Also called: bluebottle.  a Eurasian herbaceous plant, Centaurea cyanus, with blue, purple, pink, or white flowers, formerly a common weed in cornfields: family Asteraceae (composites) See also bachelor's-buttons

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of cornflower

First recorded in 1570–80; corn 1 + flower

Vocabulary lists containing cornflower

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:

Several papers also carry pictures of Catherine, Princess of Wales in a cornflower blue suit at Wimbldon.

From BBC Jul. 3, 2026

In the resulting enigmatic dreamscapes, muted purples, cornflower blues and soft ochres bloom and spatter and fleck in surprising, delicate ways.

From Seattle Times Apr. 24, 2024

A few years ago, Buchweitz tried to develop the cornflower blue as a colorant for the food industry, but it didn’t pan out.

From Science Magazine Jun. 14, 2023

Or the indigo lines undulating gently down her arm on a cornflower background look like water.

From Washington Post Dec. 16, 2022

She lay under the faded bedding like a rag doll losing its stuffing, her hair a wild collection of snakes on the pillow, her cornflower blue eyes poisoned with streaks of yellow and red.

From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Some of my favorites include violas, zinnias, rose petals, cornflowers and flowering herbs.

From Salon Oct. 22, 2022

The chamomile, cornflowers, ferns, irises and rustling grasses of the fields.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 17, 2022

Her high-rise garden attracted "bees and butterflies" and "a family of goldfinches" which fed on seeds from the cornflowers she grew.

From BBC Dec. 5, 2020

Anthocyanins can change color depending on the acidity of a solution, so Willstätter proposed that roses had a different hue because the pH in their petals was lower than in cornflowers.

From Science Magazine May 2, 2019

The child’s pink nightie, the stacks of white pillow slips edged with embroidery, the sheets with top hems picked out with blue cornflowers.

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

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