the flower of a plant, especially of one producing an edible fruit.
the state of flowering.
The apple tree is in blossom.
the flower or flowers of a plant, esp conspicuous flowers producing edible fruit
the time or period of flowering (esp in the phrases in blossom, in full blossom )
(of plants) to come into flower
to develop or come to a promising stage
youth had blossomed into maturity
What does blossom mean? In botany, a blossom is the flower of a plant, normally in its early stages and often referring to a flower that becomes edible fruit, such as apple and cherry blossoms. In botanical terms, a blossom is a flower that is attached to an edible fruit, such as a tomato blossom, or plant that is known for a product that is not the flower, like a cactus. Blossom also refers to the state of flowering, as in Washington, DC, looks lovely when all the cherry trees are in blossom. To blossom means to produce blossoms. When a plant is blossoming, it has produced flower buds that are in the process of producing petals and opening. Figuratively, to blossom means to flourish or to begin to succeed or develop. If someone tells you that you are blossoming into a good student, they mean you are getting better at your schoolwork or completing your schoolwork. Example: The cherry blossoms unfolding are always the best part of April.
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun blosme, blossem, Old English blōstm(a), blōsma “flower”; cognate with Middle Dutch bloesem, Middle Low German blosem, blossem; see bloom 1, blow 3
The flowering part of a plant or tree that will form the seeds or fruit is called a blossom and synonyms include bloom and flower. The noun can also refer to the state of such flowering. You shouldn't miss cherry blossom time in Washington, D.C. As a verb, blossom means to produce flowers. Your favorite time of year may be spring, when all the trees blossom and the air is perfumed with their scent. The verb blossom also means to begin to flourish and develop. If you are a teenager, you might be waiting to blossom and feel confident in your personality and grow into your gangly limbs.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead, she’s tinkering with the idea that Chicago might be her second city, a place where her artistic talents can fully blossom in a smaller market.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Inevitable as Funches’ dismissal was, witnessing the quiet camaraderie blossom between him and Rausch was one of the kindest, warmest subplots of an especially ruthless season.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
I like the way that he started to blossom a bit and you could see him gaining in confidence.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
AI startups could blossom into larger customers as they grow, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
The scent of apple blossom was plain enough.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
The founder and chief executive of AI health startup Blossom was tired of moving around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
Li and Baicai both showed AFP their original photos and the characters in "The Peach Blossom Hairpin", which bore a strong resemblance.
From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026
Maddie's first TikTok video about baby loss - which she posted with a trigger warning - shows her and her husband in the Blossom Suite, gently swaying with Teddy while tears stream down their faces.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2025
Blossom — “the prettiest lil thing,” per her mom — arrived in September 2024 after Cardi B and Offset were already estranged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025
Sometimes he roused himself a little and he looked at Pear Blossom and he was troubled and said, “It is too quiet a life for you, my child.”
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
"My horse is a therapist for this other little horse now. Every day he blossoms."
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
With G&T, dinners showcase Dorset’s homegrown ingredients at their best: delicate hand-dived scallops from Lyme Bay, organic salads scattered with edible flowers, puddings as light as cherry blossoms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Against a backdrop of blooming cherry blossoms, a group of geishas elegantly shuffle onto a stage in Japan's Kyoto city to begin a centuries-old performance celebrating the arrival of spring.
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
It was spring, and I kept telling myself I would drive down to Washington one weekend to see the cherry blossoms.
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2026
I thought, if I ever got married, apple blossoms were what I would like to have in the church.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
Henderson blossomed in six years under the tutelage of Carlisle's coaching staff and Manchester United signed him in 2015 at the age of 14.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
The same dynamic has blossomed within the GOP.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026
Other backward glances include “As You Lie There,” a fantasy about a teenage crush that never blossomed into a romance, and “Salesman Saint,” a paean to Mr. McCartney’s parents’ coping with life in postwar Liverpool.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Russian energy sales are the "most stable" part of a political, military and economic relationship that has blossomed between the two countries in recent years, Korolev said.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
Plants blossomed in the thick black earth, sprawling out in all directions while trees—palm, oak, ash, and fruit-bearing ones of every variety—reached up into the misty heights, their branches draped with vines.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
With her high, bright soprano, Katrina Galka was a persuasive Clara—you believed in her emotional blossoming; tenor Roy Hage needed to be more of a crooner as Fabrizio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
The turn-of-the-century molds in his studio — which use botanic motifs, blossoming forms with metallic winged and floral attachments — look like desk toppers fit for an early 1900s eccentric obsessed with Darwinism and industrialization.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
The White House said the decor was inspired by English gardens, with the room featuring towering trees and blossoming boxes of lilac.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
“It’s been decades of us struggling to survive. Now we’re at this moment where it’s not a struggle. It’s a blossoming moment where our future is set up forever.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
In early April he starts on what will become another series of paintings of blossoming orchards.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
