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bottlebrush

American  
[bot-l-bruhsh] / ˈbɒt lˌbrʌʃ /

noun

Botany.
  1. any of various trees or shrubs of the myrtle family, especially of the genera Callistemon and Melaleuca, native to Australia and adjacent areas, having spikes of flowers with numerous conspicuous stamens.


bottlebrush British  
/ ˈbɒtəlˌbrʌʃ /

noun

  1. a cylindrical brush on a thin shaft, used for cleaning bottles

  2. Also called: callistemon. any of various Australian myrtaceous shrubs or trees of the genera Callistemon and Melaleuca , having dense spikes of large red flowers with protruding brushlike stamens

  3. any of various similar trees or shrubs

"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

Etymology

Origin of bottlebrush

1705–15; bottle 1 + brush 1; so called from the resemblance of the flower spike to a brush used for cleaning bottles, with bristles on all sides of a central stem


Vocabulary lists containing bottlebrush

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.

See Examples For:

This is a "universal" strategy for polymer networks because the components that make up the foldable bottlebrush polymer structure are not restricted to specific chemical types.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2024

Then they added bottlebrush trees, animal figurines and little log cabins.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 8, 2023

In one storage room, glass jars full of pollens — red alder, mountain cedar, bottlebrush — dust mites, cockroach, cattle hair, aspergillus, and other allergens lined the shelves.

From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2020

California wild grapevines will eventually grow along the rebar awning, and colorful dwarf bottlebrush will fill in to create a more formal low hedge.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2015

They had only gone a few paces when Hermione’s bandy-legged ginger cat, Crookshanks, came pelting out of the garden, bottlebrush tail held high in the air, chasing what looked like a muddy potato on legs.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

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