heliotropism

[ hee-lee-o-truh-piz-uhm, hee-lee-uh-troh-piz-uhm ]

/ ˌhi liˈɒ trəˌpɪz əm, ˌhi li əˈtroʊ pɪz əm /

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noun

heliotropic tendency or growth.

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Origin of heliotropism

First recorded in 1850–55; helio- + -tropism

Words nearby heliotropism

heliotaxis, heliotherapy, heliotrope, heliotropic, heliotropin, heliotropism, heliotype, heliozoan, helipad, heliport, heliskiing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use heliotropism in a sentence

If it acts in a one-sided way, it causes the particular form of stimulation which we call phototaxis or heliotropism.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel
This 'midday sleep' has been termed para-heliotropism by Darwin.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
We notice also the reverse phenomenon, namely, that chemical changes produced in the animal destroy its heliotropism.
Darwin and Modern Science|A.C. Seward and Others
These periodic motions are determined to a large extent, if not exclusively, by the heliotropism of these animals.
Darwin and Modern Science|A.C. Seward and Others

This problem reduces itself simply to that of the method whereby the gametes transmit heliotropism to the larvae or to the adult.
Darwin and Modern Science|A.C. Seward and Others

British Dictionary definitions for heliotropism

heliotropism

/ (ˌhiːlɪˈɒtrəˌpɪzəm) /

noun

the growth of plants or plant parts (esp flowers) in response to the stimulus of sunlight, so that they turn to face the sun

Derived forms of heliotropism

heliotropic (ˌhiːlɪəʊˈtrɒpɪk), adjectiveheliotropically, adverb

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

Scientific definitions for heliotropism

heliotropism

[ hē′lē-ŏt′rə-pĭz′əm ]

The growth or movement of a fixed organism, especially a plant, toward or away from sunlight. Heliotropism can be easily seen in sunflowers, which slowly turn their large flowers so that they continually face the sun.

Other words from heliotropism

heliotropic adjective (hēl′lē-ə-trō′pĭk, -trŏp′ĭk)