lavender
Americannoun
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a pale bluish purple.
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any Old World plant or shrub belonging to the genus Lavandula, of the mint family, especially L. angustifolia, having spikes of fragrant, pale purple flowers.
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the dried flowers or other parts of this plant placed among linen, clothes, etc., for scent or as a preservative.
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Also called lavender water. toilet water, aftershave, or the like, made with a solution of oil of lavender.
adjective
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of the color lavender.
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Informal.
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of or relating to gay male sexual orientation.
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(of a man) gay or effeminate.
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noun
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any of various perennial shrubs or herbaceous plants of the genus Lavandula, esp L. vera, cultivated for its mauve or blue flowers and as the source of a fragrant oil ( oil of lavender ): family Lamiaceae (labiates) See also spike lavender Compare sea lavender
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the dried parts of L. vera, used to perfume clothes
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a pale or light bluish-purple to a very pale violet colour
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( as adjective )
lavender socks
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perfume scented with lavender
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informal (modifier) of or relating to homosexuality
lavender language
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lavender
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English lavendre, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin lavendula, variant of livendula, nasalized variant (unrecorded) of lividula “a plant livid in color”; see livid , -ule
Explanation
You know that sweet-smelling plant with tiny purple-blue flowers your grandmother has growing in her garden? Well that’s lavender, a sweet-smelling evergreen with 93 different species. If you’re brave and look in your grandmother’s drawer you’ll probably find dried sachets of lavender flowers to keep her clothes smelling nice, as lavender is one of the most common natural scents of all, including an oil made from its essence. The plant has also given its name to the color lavender. So, a plant, a scent and a color — not bad for one little shrub!
Vocabulary lists containing lavender
Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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Purple
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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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.
She later went from a figure-hugging sheer lavender Gucci gown to a playful daytime polka dot ensemble from Jacquemus matched with retro white sun glasses, with Elle magazine praising her "old Hollywood" dash.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
Other top spots for Eboni include Alton in Hampshire where she saw fields of lavender and Hastings where she visited a vineyard, Hever Castle and heritage funicular railway East and West Hill Lifts.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
The swish of polyester skirts in spring pastels — lavender, mint, butter-yellow — as the women of the church organized the spread.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026
Perhaps a hint of lavender in Ford’s new-car spritz?
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
The lavender that Mama had woven through his collar stuck up like the flowers on headstones in the cemetery, stiff and straight.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
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.
