flower power

American

[flou-er pou-er] / ˈflaʊ ər ˌpaʊ ər /

noun

a slogan used by and associated with flower children of the 1960s and 1970s as representative of a movement for nonviolence, passive resistance, and universal love.

flower power British

noun

informal a youth cult of the late 1960s advocating peace and love, using the flower as a symbol; associated with drug-taking. Its adherents were known as flower children or flower people

"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 flower power

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

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.

She was only into the peace, love and flower power, which was also going on at that time.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2025

Tom Morello also once described Osbourne’s voice as the sound of “the no-hope working class driving a stake through the heart of the flower power generation.”

From Salon • Jul. 26, 2025

This original festival destination amped up its flower power this year with wider rows and up to three times the bulbs per acre for 2023’s display gardens.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 30, 2023

"It was still flower power and there was a revolutionary feel. It was the time of the Vietnam War, Paris, Prague and student sit-ins," he recalled.

From BBC • Feb. 14, 2023

“It was the young people’s Hamlet. David’s gentleness and passivity jibed absolutely with flower power and all that. He was wonderful.’

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2022

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