flower
the blossom of a plant.
Botany.
the part of a seed plant comprising the reproductive organs and their envelopes if any, especially when such envelopes are more or less conspicuous in form and color.
an analogous reproductive structure in other plants, as the mosses.
a plant, considered with reference to its blossom or cultivated for its floral beauty.
state of efflorescence or bloom: Peonies were in flower.
an ornament representing a flower.
an ornament or adornment.
the finest or most flourishing period: Poetic drama was in flower in Elizabethan England.
the best or finest member or part of a number, body, or whole: the flower of American youth.
the finest or choicest product or example.
flowers, (used with a singular verb)Chemistry. a substance in the form of a fine powder, especially as obtained by sublimation: flowers of sulfur.
to produce flowers; blossom; come to full bloom.
to come out into full development; mature.
to cover or deck with flowers.
to decorate with a floral design.
Origin of flower
1Other words for flower
Other words from flower
- re·flow·er, verb
Words that may be confused with flower
- flour, flower
Words Nearby flower
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use flower in a sentence
Like other male mosquitoes, they drink flower nectar, not blood.
Genetically modified mosquitoes have been OK’d for a first U.S. test flight | Susan Milius | August 22, 2020 | Science News“You could also send flowers on the day of the wedding or bring a card to the wedding and give them that instead,” she says.
A guide to giving gifts for postponed and shrunken weddings | Brooke Henderson | August 20, 2020 | FortuneAfter the adult emerges, it drinks nectar from flowers and mates.
Pesticides contaminate most food of western U.S. monarchs | Rebecca E. Hirsch | August 17, 2020 | Science News For StudentsAfterward, women at the temple performed their usual routine — praying to Hindu deities and offering fruits and flowers.
Why do we miss the rituals put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic? | Sujata Gupta | August 14, 2020 | Science NewsMaking drone pollination practical would require flying robots that can recognize flowers and deftly target specific blossoms, the researchers say.
Bubble-blowing drones may one day aid artificial pollination | Maria Temming | June 22, 2020 | Science News
He felt his body grow limp (like one of those high-speed films of a flower wilting).
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’ | Asawin Suebsaeng | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTHer very first performance onstage came at the age of 4, when she cameoed as a dancing flower in the musical Bye Bye Birdie.
Jena Malone’s Long, Strange Trip From Homelessness to Hollywood Stardom | Marlow Stern | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere are lovingly tended flower beds along each road and surrounding every barrack.
I decorated with marigolds, which are considered the flower of the dead.
She was obsessed with the flower-printed, scented toilet paper.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State | Lizzie Crocker | October 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLet the thought of self pass in, and the beauty of great action is gone, like the bloom from a soiled flower.
Pearls of Thought | Maturin M. BallouThe flower stems on the American varieties are much longer than those of European tobaccos and also larger.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.Black Sheep retreated to the nursery and read "Cometh up as a flower" with deep and uncomprehending interest.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingHer face was mild and pale; but it was the transparent hue of the virgin flower of spring, clad in her veiling leaves.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterAnd there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
British Dictionary definitions for flower
/ (ˈflaʊə) /
a bloom or blossom on a plant
a plant that bears blooms or blossoms
the reproductive structure of angiosperm plants, consisting normally of stamens and carpels surrounded by petals and sepals all borne on the receptacle (one or more of these structures may be absent). In some plants it is conspicuous and brightly coloured and attracts insects or other animals for pollination: Related adjective: floral Related prefix: antho-
any similar reproductive structure in other plants
the prime; peak: in the flower of his youth
the choice or finest product, part, or representative: the flower of the young men
a decoration or embellishment
printing a type ornament, used with others in borders, chapter headings, etc
Also called: fleuron an embellishment or ornamental symbol depicting a flower
(plural) fine powder, usually produced by sublimation: flowers of sulphur
(intr) to produce flowers; bloom
(intr) to reach full growth or maturity
(tr) to deck or decorate with flowers or floral designs
Origin of flower
1Derived forms of flower
- flower-like, adjective
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
Scientific definitions for flower
[ flou′ər ]
The reproductive structure of the seed-bearing plants known as angiosperms. A flower may contain up to four whorls or arrangements of parts: carpels, stamens, petals, and sepals. The female reproductive organs consist of one or more carpels. Each carpel includes an ovary, style, and stigma. A single carpel or a group of fused carpels is sometimes called a pistil. The male reproductive parts are the stamens, made up of a filament and anther. The reproductive organs may be enclosed in an inner whorl of petals and an outer whorl of sepals. Flowers first appeared over 120 million years ago and have evolved a great diversity of forms and coloration in response to the agents that pollinate them. Some flowers produce nectar to attract animal pollinators, and these flowers are often highly adapted to specific groups of pollinators. Flowers pollinated by moths, such as species of jasmine and nicotiana, are often pale and fragrant in order to be found in the evening, while those pollinated by birds, such as fuschias, are frequently red and odorless, since birds have good vision but a less developed sense of smell. Wind-pollinated flowers, such as those of oak trees or grass, are usually drab and inconspicuous. See Note at pollination.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for flower
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse