honeysuckle

American  

[huhn-ee-suhk-uhl] / ˈhʌn iˌsʌk əl /

noun

honeysuckles plural

1. any of numerous North American and Eurasian shrubs or twining vines of the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae), many species of which are hardy climbers known for their highly fragrant tubular flowers, especially those of genus Lonicera.

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honeysuckle British  

/ ˈhʌnɪˌsʌkəl /

noun

1. any temperate caprifoliaceous shrub or vine of the genus Lonicera: cultivated for their fragrant white, yellow, or pink tubular flowers

2. any of several similar plants

3. any of various Australian trees or shrubs of the genus Banksia, having flowers in dense spikes: family Proteaceae

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Usage

What is honeysuckle? Honeysuckle is a climbing or upright shrub with fragrant white, yellow, pink, or red tubular flowers. This flower can also be called a honeysuckle. They are known for having a sweet drop of nectar that you can get by pulling the stamen out of the base of the flower blossom. However, other parts of the plant can be toxic if ingested. There are many different species of honeysuckle, including Diervilla lonicera and Lonicera periclymenum. Any species in the genus Lornicera can be called honeysuckle. Names for some varieties of honeysuckle include woodbine and common honeysuckle. The honeysuckle is one of the June birth flowers (a flower that’s associated with a particular month in the same way as a birthstone). Example: The kids made a bouquet of wild honeysuckle flowers that they found in the woods.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• honeysuckled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• honeysuckles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of honeysuckle

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English honisoukel, equivalent to honisouke + -el; see honey, suck, -le

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

honeysuckle honeysuckles

The beds are dotted with scented flowers such as honeysuckle, jasmine and lavender, and textured foliage and grasses that patients can touch and smell from their beds.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

The dispersed woodlands of western Illinois, where I now live, are filled with many of the plants you’d expect: oaks, bluebells and honeysuckle.

From Salon ● May 27, 2025

You can taste the grassy honeysuckle and anise flavors of the sugar cane in the piloncillo because it’s made by hand without industrial processing, she said, adding that the chocolatería prefers it to regular sugar.

From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2024

"When it gets to the stage where it's out of control like honeysuckle, you get to a breaking point where it's just infeasible to deal with it."

From Science Daily ● Dec. 1, 2023

I walked through gas station and motel forecourts and across restaurant parking lots, clambered over concrete barriers, crossed lawns, and pushed through neglected ranks of privet or honeysuckle at property boundaries.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

They have enjoyed spectacular views on their travels and savoured simple pleasures, such as smelling honeysuckles.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2021

Ross Gay, a great poet of mirth, reminds us of the aromatic joys of honeysuckles, which only “the sad call a weed.”

From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2021

McCleary typically paints them not much differently from those hearty limes or snowberry honeysuckles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2018

An archway holds a vining, thick mass of honeysuckles — a plant both Dina and Robby loved as children.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2018

But today she smells fresh, like honeysuckles and soap.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman