Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

heather

1 American  
[heth-er] / ˈhɛð ər /

noun

  1. any of various heaths, especially Calluna vulgaris, of England and Scotland, having small, pinkish-purple flowers.

adjective

  1. (of a yarn or fabric color) subtly flecked or mottled.

    all-cotton turtlenecks in your choice of five solid colors plus heather gray and heather green.
Heather 2 American  
[heth-er] / ˈhɛð ər /

noun

  1. a female given name.

heather British  
/ ˈhɛðə /

noun

  1. Also called: ling.   heath.  a low-growing evergreen Eurasian ericaceous shrub, Calluna vulgaris, that grows in dense masses on open ground and has clusters of small bell-shaped typically pinkish-purple flowers

  2. any of certain similar plants

  3. a purplish-red to pinkish-purple colour

"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

adjective

  1. of a heather colour

  2. of or relating to interwoven yarns of mixed colours

    heather mixture
"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

Other Word Forms

  • heathered adjective
  • heathery adjective

Etymology

Origin of heather

1300–50; spelling variant of hether, earlier hedder, hadder, hather, Middle English hathir; akin to heath

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.

Only decades ago many of the cottages in Scotland’s Highlands were roofed in heather, bracken and marram grass.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Certain plants, such as heather, are adapted to fire-prone environments.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2025

Upland heathland is characterised by the presence of low-growing shrubs, such as heather.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2025

People who manage land may burn gorse in a controlled manner to clear land for other purposes, and burn heather to encourage new shoots that are more palatable to game birds.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2025

“If we could find a strong heather root,” said Agravaine, “we could tie her pigtails together, round the other side of it.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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.