four-leaf clover

American

[fawr-leef, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌlif, ˈfoʊr- /

noun

a clover leaf having four leaflets instead of the usual three, purported to bring good luck.

four-leaf clover British

noun

a clover with four leaves rather than three, supposed to bring good luck
another name for cloverleaf

"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 four-leaf clover

First recorded in 1840–50

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.

After her father found a four-leaf clover, he taped it to a piece of paper and gave it to her.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

Taking to instagram on Thursday, Anderson posted a Dior label accompanied by a four-leaf clover to confirm the news.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2025

She plucked a four-leaf clover as a toddler and never looked back.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2024

They adorned the side with two dice and two cards, both adding up to a lucky 7, and a four-leaf clover.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 31, 2022

She flipped through its pages and carefully extracted a delicate green four-leaf clover that Joe had given her and she had pressed between the book’s pages.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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