poppy

[ pop-ee ]
See synonyms for poppy on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural pop·pies for 1, 2, 4-7.
  1. any plant of the genus Papaver, having showy, usually red flowers.: Compare poppy family.

  2. any of several related or similar plants, as the California poppy or the prickly poppy.

  1. an extract, as opium, from such a plant.

  2. Also called poppy red. an orangish red resembling scarlet.

  3. Architecture. poppyhead.

  4. an artificial flower resembling a poppy, especially one received as evidence of a contribution to a fund for disabled war veterans.

Idioms about poppy

  1. tall poppy, Australian. someone of preeminence or with a large income; important and powerful person.

Origin of poppy

1
before 900; Middle English; Old English popæg, papig ≪ Vulgar Latin *papāvum, for Latin papāver

Other words from poppy

  • pop·py·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use poppy in a sentence

  • Her hat was covered with poppies and wild azalea, and she had a sheaf of buttercups and "blue eyes" in her belt.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • Glancing out I saw one of the calves investigating a bed of poppies as if meditating a dose of laudanum to induce sleepfulness.

  • The many white turbans, stirring hither and thither, reminded her of a field of white poppies in a breeze.

    The Adventures of Kathlyn | Harold MacGrath
  • Besides these Poppies, the large double garden Poppies are very showy and of great variety in colour, but they are only annuals.

  • She drives through Kent, "where the fields, valleys, and slopes are garlanded with hops and ablaze with scarlet poppies."

British Dictionary definitions for poppy (1 of 2)

poppy1

/ (ˈpɒpɪ) /


nounplural -pies
  1. any of numerous papaveraceous plants of the temperate genus Papaver, having red, orange, or white flowers and a milky sap: See corn poppy, Iceland poppy, opium poppy

  2. any of several similar or related plants, such as the California poppy, prickly poppy, horned poppy, and Welsh poppy

  1. obsolete any of the drugs, such as opium, that are obtained from these plants

    • a strong red to reddish-orange colour

    • (as adjective): a poppy dress

  2. a less common name for poppyhead (def. 2)

  3. an artificial red poppy flower worn to mark Remembrance Sunday

Origin of poppy

1
Old English popæg, ultimately from Latin papāver

British Dictionary definitions for poppy (2 of 2)

poppy2

/ (ˈpɒpɪ) /


adjective-pier or -piest
  1. of or relating to pop music

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