foliage
Americannoun
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the leaves of a plant, collectively; leafage.
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leaves in general.
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the representation of leaves, flowers, and branches in painting, architectural ornament, etc.
noun
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the green leaves of a plant
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sprays of leaves used for decoration
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an ornamental leaflike design
Other Word Forms
- foliaged adjective
- unfoliaged adjective
Etymology
Origin of foliage
1400–50; late Middle English foilage < Middle French fueillage, foillage, derivative of feuille leaf; influenced by Latin folium folium. See foil 2, -age
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.
In the mornings, Christine eagerly awaits the brightly colored, highly vocal birds swooping into their garden, whooping their greetings before flying off into the junglelike foliage.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
Well you're not cursed and you don't need particularly green fingers for your to foliage to thrive, you just need to know where you might be going wrong, experts say.
From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
From Barron's • Dec. 25, 2025
The rest of the home is already decked out for Thanksgiving with ceramic pumpkins and strings of orange and gold decorative foliage.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2025
From time to time sunlight shone in tall shafts through the foliage, and then there were stretches of shadow, or brief squalls of rain and mist.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
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.
