heliotropic

American  

[hee-lee-uh-trop-ik, -troh-pik] / ˌhi li əˈtrɒp ɪk, -ˈtroʊ pɪk /

adjective

Biology.

1. turning or growing toward the light.

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Other Word Forms

• heliotropically adverb

Etymology

Origin of heliotropic

First recorded in 1870–75; helio- + -tropic

Explanation

If something is heliotropic, it turns towards the sun, like the plant in your house that seems to bend toward your window. Heliotropic generally describes plants. It refers to the way that some plants change position throughout the day to follow the motion of the sun. In the morning, a daisy might face east; in the evening, it might face west. Helio comes from the Greek word hḗlios, which means "sun," and -tropic which also comes from Greek and means "turned toward." It's pretty straightforward!

Example Sentences

The handrails running east curled upward like heliotropic flowers reaching for the sun, and those running west fell like dried stalks.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2023

The site, which was converted from a heliotropic treatment center to a geriatric care facility and later to the Seaside Regional Center, a state institution for people with developmental disabilities, has been vacant since 1996.

From Washington Times • Mar. 31, 2018

In addition to their striking color and size, young sunflowers are heliotropic — meaning they turn to face the sun as they mature.

From Washington Times • Aug. 29, 2017

I’ve given up on the idea of replicating George Bernard Shaw’s heliotropic garden shed, or Yeats’s highfalutin’ Thoor Ballylee, or even Hemingway’s homely stand-up desk.

From New York Times • Mar. 25, 2015

All around the Opel, the flowers creak on their stems and nod their heliotropic faces as if in some sad accord.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr