imbricate
Americanadjective
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overlapping in sequence, as tiles or shingles on a roof.
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of, relating to, or resembling overlapping tiles, as decoration or drawings.
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Biology. overlapping like tiles, as scales or leaves.
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characterized by or as if by overlapping shingles.
verb (used with or without object)
adjective
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architect relating to or having tiles, shingles, or slates that overlap
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botany (of leaves, scales, etc) overlapping each other
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of imbricate
1650–60; < Late Latin imbricātus tiled with imbrices, shaped like such a tile or tiling, equivalent to imbric- (stem of imbrex ) imbrex + -ātus -ate 1
Vocabulary lists containing imbricate
"Against Nature," Vocabulary from the argument
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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:
Calyx 5-parted, valvate in the staminate flowers, imbricate in the pistillate.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
Leaves round-quadrate, closely imbricate, deeply and obtusely 2–3-cleft; involucral leaves 3–4-cleft, connate at base, subserrate.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
Ascending, with numerous offshoots; stem-leaves semi-vertical, obliquely spreading, roundish, acutely 2–4-toothed, those of the shoots closely imbricate, premorsely 2–4-denticulate; involucral leaves two, 3-toothed; perianth oblong.—In similar localities.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
The spikelets are about 1/8 inch, imbricate, a sessile and a stalked one from the top of each joint, greenish or purple.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
The head of this voracious animal is flat and imbricate; several of the under teeth enter into and pass through the upper jaw; the nape is naked; on the tail are two rough lateral lines.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Belcher, Edward, Sir
Once home to a bustling trade route, the region bears the marks of Morocco’s imbricated faiths and folkways.
From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2022
Space travel was imbricated with science fiction, with dreams of heroic courage that continue to fuel unscientific fantasies.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 24, 2020
Its sound centers on her leaping and insinuating vocals, more versatile than ever, which fly acrobatically above her rivers of dazzling contrapuntal harp runs and imbricated layers of piano and analog synthesizers.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2015
Volutes, asportation, imbricated, Mnemosyne and phthisic are a few of the others.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 10, 2015
Petals 5, epigynous, oblong or obovate, lightly imbricated in the bud, deciduous.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
Flowers at the extremities of the branches, 1½ in. long, composed of numerous imbricating, scale-like petals, curving inwards, and coloured crimson.
From Cactus Culture for Amateurs Being Descriptions of the Various Cactuses Grown in This Country, With Full and Practical Instructions for Their Successful Cultivation by Watson, W.
The inflorescence consists of a solitary spike with closely imbricating spikelets.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
In this spikelet the rachilla bears a number of glumes alternating and imbricating.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
The leaves are for the most part palmately-lobed, and the flowers are regular, consisting of five sepals, five imbricating petals, alternating with five glandules at their base, ten stamens and a beaked ovary.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 7 "Geoponici" to "Germany" by Various
Branches are many, short, crowded, densely clothed from the base with sessile, imbricating, much compressed deflexed spikelets.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
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.
