hibiscus
Americannoun
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hibiscuses
plural
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Also called China rose. a woody plant, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, of the mallow family, having large, showy flowers: the state flower of Hawaii.
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any of numerous other plants, shrubs, or trees of the genus Hibiscus, characterized by lobate or dentate leaves and usually profusely blooming flowers.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hibiscus
1700–10; < New Latin, Latin < Greek hibískos mallow
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.
See Examples For:
Depending on your mood, you might continue with Royal Red shrimp served raw with dots of fermented Scotch bonnet pepper and a dusting of spiced red hibiscus flower.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
It’s meticulously organized perfection: Its various neighborhoods, gated communities, parks, and street are pristine and feature shallow lagoons and golf courses, palm trees and hibiscus, blue skies and backyard swimming pools.
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2025
Currently, I have cherries on my nails but before this, I had yellow French tips with hibiscus flowers for the summer.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2024
They also provided baked beans, collard greens, mac ’n cheese, potato salad, maple buttermilk cornbread and hibiscus lemonade.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2023
Still, every morning he insisted on being lifted from his bed and wheeled to his study, deposited there among his books and papers and the hibiscus plant on the windowsill.
From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom
In such a garden, you could position ostrich ferns in and around other bog lovers: winterberry, Yaupon holly or river birch, or the herbaceous hardy hibiscuses, swamp lobelias or ligularias.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2015
Jajas eyes shone as he talked about the hibiscuses, as he held them out so I could touch the cold, moist sticks.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Papa stood by the hibiscuses, giving directions, one hand sunk in the pocket of his white tunic while the other pointed from item to car.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Roses and hibiscuses and lilies and ixora and croton grew side by side like a hand- painted wreath.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
They started before, when all the hibiscuses in our front yard were a startling red.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
