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
any of certain similar plants
a purplish-red to pinkish-purple colour
of a heather colour
of or relating to interwoven yarns of mixed colours
heather mixture
1300–50; spelling variant of hether, earlier hedder, hadder, hather, Middle English hathir; akin to heath
Heather is a hearty flowering plant that's common in many parts of the world but most famous for growing in the Scottish Highlands. Heather grows in low, dense mats, often in soil that's wet, acidic, or otherwise inhospitable. In Scotland, millions of acres are carpeted in colorful heather, and the country is closely associated with the plant. The Old English root of heather is hæddre, and the word was mainly used in Scots until the 16th century. As a girl's name, Heather was extremely rare until the 1930s, and its popularity exploded in the 1970s and 80s.
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Heather Price, of The Retford Bakeshed, was one of eight owners to receive the letter from Bassettlaw District Council.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
“There will be winners and losers for sure,” said Heather Schneider, director of conservation at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, whose work includes studying and protecting rare plants on the island.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
Heather Lavallee is CEO and a board member at Voya Financial, a retirement, employee-benefits and investment-management company.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026
“They have to be very conscious of where every dollar is going,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
“We got your back, girl,” Heather whispered in our little huddle.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
