botanical
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- botanically adverb
- nonbotanic adjective
- nonbotanical adjective
- nonbotanically adverb
- unbotanical adjective
Etymology
Origin of botanical
1650–60; botanic (< Medieval Latin botanicus < Greek botanikós of plants, equivalent to botán ( ē ) herb + -ikos -ic ) + -al 1
Explanation
Use the adjective botanical to describe something that has to do with plants. You might call your illustrated book of New England ferns and mosses a botanical guide. Botanical research involves the study of plants, and a botanical scientist — or botanist — has focused her career on learning about plants. If there are botanical substances in your favorite soda, it means that in addition to sugar and chemicals, there are plant ingredients too. Botanical comes from botanic, which has its root in the Greek word botanikos, "of herbs."
Vocabulary lists containing botanical
My Side of the Mountain
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The Most Beautiful Roof in the World
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"Allied with Green," Vocabulary from the short story
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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.
To start, they’ve been masquerading as a vegetable when they are actually classified as botanical fruits.
From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026
The unnamed autobiographical narrator recalls viewing an exhibition of remarkably lifelike botanical models by the father-and-son glass artists Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
Southern California, especially Los Angeles, has many breathtaking botanical gardens and wildflower-lined hiking trails.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
AG Barr purchased the Hexham-based botanical brewery and fizzy drinks brand Fentimans for about £38m, in a move funded through a combination of cash and debt.
From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026
A leaky pipe destroys an entire rack of pressed botanical samples: it’s the diamond.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
