hosta

American

[hoh-stuh, hos-tuh] / ˈhoʊ stə, ˈhɒs tə /

noun

any of various plants belonging to the genus Hosta, of the lily family, which includes the plantain lily.

hosta British

/ ˈhɒstə /

noun

any plant of the liliaceous genus Hosta, of China and Japan: cultivated esp for their ornamental foliage

"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

Etymology

Origin of hosta

< New Latin (1797), after Nicolaus Thomas Host (1761–1834), Austrian botanist; see -a ²

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.

In a shaded area of the sprawling backyard, they planted more than 300 hosta varieties.

From Seattle Times • May 22, 2024

He prints with leaves from trees that probably witnessed the Battle of Fredericksburg, and from a hosta plant in the back garden of the New Jersey house where Whitman lived his final years.

From Washington Post • Sep. 8, 2021

I also saw some hosta leaves sprouting, and they are destined to get zapped by forthcoming freezes.

From Washington Post • Jan. 5, 2021

As the birches grew up to create shady areas, the couple underplanted with painted ferns, hosta and ornamental grasses.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 16, 2017

In years past, deer have eaten every hosta and tulip in sight, wild turkeys have chased homeowners off their lawns, bears have ripped apart bird feeders like tin cans.

From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2015

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023