Easter lily

American

noun

any of several white-flowered lilies that are artificially brought into bloom in early spring, especially Lilium longiflorum eximium, native to Taiwan and widely cultivated.

Easter lily British

noun

any of various lilies, esp Lilium longiflorum, that have large showy white flowers

"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 Easter lily

First recorded in 1875–80

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.

Like most of the others, Tony is growing the Croft, a white, sturdy, strong-stemmed Easter lily that multiplies at the rate of 150 bulbs from one bulb a season, will grow 20,000 to the acre.

From Time Magazine Archive

Startled first-nighters saw the heroine clad as half nun and half Easter lily, her duenna completely faceless, another nun headless and one tavern character with two heads.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Easter lily is managed the same way, except to hasten its flowers it should be kept at not lower than 60° at night.

From Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by Bailey, L. H. (Liberty Hyde)

As Lloyd went on, telling of the times she had failed and times she had succeeded, Mary felt as if she were listening to the confessions of a white Easter lily.

From The Little Colonel: Maid of Honor by Barry, Etheldred B. (Etheldred Breeze)

She carries an Easter lily in a pot.

From Plays: Comrades; Facing Death; Pariah; Easter by Oland, Warner

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023