heliotropic

[hee-lee-uh-trop-ik, -troh-pik]

adjective

Biology.

1. turning or growing toward the light.

Other Word Forms

• heliotropically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of heliotropic¹

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

Example Sentences

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

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Back in school I remember learning that plants are “heliotropic,” meaning they grow towards the light.

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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.

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

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

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