ivy
noun
a climbing vine, Hedera helix, having smooth, shiny, evergreen leaves, small, yellowish flowers, and black berries, grown as an ornamental.
ivy
1 American
[ahy-vee]
/ ˈaɪ vi /
noun
-
ivies
plural
-
Also called English ivy. a climbing vine, Hedera helix, having smooth, shiny, evergreen leaves, small, yellowish flowers, and black berries, grown as an ornamental.
-
any of various other climbing or trailing plants.
adjective
-
(often initial capital letter) Ivy League.
-
New England. mountain laurel.
Ivy
2
American
[ahy-vee]
/ ˈaɪ vi /
noun
ivy
British
/ ˈaɪvɪ /
noun
-
any woody climbing or trailing araliaceous plant of the Old World genus Hedera, esp H. helix, having lobed evergreen leaves and black berry-like fruits
-
any of various other climbing or creeping plants, such as Boston ivy, poison ivy, and ground ivy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ivy
before 900; Middle English ivi; Old English ifig; akin to German Efeu
Explanation
Ivy is a plant that climbs fences and trellises, or creeps along the ground as it grows. Most ivy has dark, shiny leaves with five points. There are many types of ivy, from English ivy (which you can also grow indoors), to the true ivy's close relative, poison ivy, which is famously irritating, causing a terrible, itchy rash. Ivies are evergreen, which means they keep their green leaves in the winter. The so-called "Ivy League" is a group of eight selective colleges (including Harvard and Princeton), given this name for the ivy that creeps up many of the campuses' old brick buildings.
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:
Current treatments work reasonably well for chemical itch caused by irritants such as mosquito bites or poison ivy.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
Campus comedies seem to be flourishing, like ivy on Harvard brick, or mold in a bathroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
Five easy-to-grow plants recommended by RHS include the Madagascar dragon tree, English ivy, rubber plant, Boston fern and Sansevieria trifasciata.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026
You have three unhealthy patterns that have taken hold, like ivy that has grown into the foundations of your home: repeated conflict, avoidance of conflict, and your inability to agree on financial management.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2025
In the barn they had found the wheelbarrow, which they determined might be easier than carrying Goldilocks the entire way to the ivy shack.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
They add that Ivy Leagues and other elite schools that went test-optional in the pandemic have reversed course.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Add $100,000 onto that private-university fee for an Ivy League school.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
This dynamic has been playing out in the Ivy League, for instance, where admission rates have fallen over the past decade-plus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
From Stanley cups to dirty soda franchises, everything’s a little bit more SEC and a little less Ivy in 2026.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
And then Ivy stepped around the corner ahead of them.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Costa Farms, a major wholesale grower of houseplants, has a broad range of ivies designed for use indoors, though many are hardy in the Mid-Atlantic and would work as outdoor container plantings.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 28, 2017
Perhaps this is passe as well, but ivies can be grown on wire forms to produce topiaries.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 28, 2017
Consider planting akebias, climbing roses and noninvasive ivies to hide the fence and create a living wall.
From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2013
Kate Nesbitt, like a hard wall beneath gracious ivies, considers her best-loved daughter as good as dead.
From Time Magazine Archive
The house was small, but in a beautiful, bright street, and the one window near the door was full of ferns and ivies.
From Richard Vandermarck by Miriam Coles Harris
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.
