blossom
1 Americannoun
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the flower of a plant, especially of one producing an edible fruit.
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the state of flowering.
The apple tree is in blossom.
noun
noun
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the flower or flowers of a plant, esp conspicuous flowers producing edible fruit
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the time or period of flowering (esp in the phrases in blossom, in full blossom )
verb
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(of plants) to come into flower
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to develop or come to a promising stage
youth had blossomed into maturity
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
- blossoming noun
- blossomless adjective
- blossomy adjective
- outblossom verb (used with object)
- reblossom verb (used without object)
- unblossomed adjective
- unblossoming adjective
Etymology
Origin of blossom
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; bloom 1, blow 3
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.
“I don’t take for granted that it would have been really easy to write a show where her character never blossomed in that way.”
From Los Angeles Times
At a food distribution center in Skid Row, magenta bougainvillea is blooming, and so are Indian coral trees, full of fire-colored blossoms, The Los Angeles Times reports.
From New York Times
But the team blossomed this season — right into the playoffs.
From Seattle Times
The vivid green grass on the foothills, the pops of fuchsia blossoms in thickets of coastal ice plant, the yellow flowers of black mustard: None of it is native to Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times
As our critic Molly Young wrote, “Demon blossoms into an authentic artist and reaps all the rewards associated with that calling in modern-day America: obscurity, instability, compensation best measured in units of peanut.”
From New York Times
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.
