any shrub or tree of the genus Magnolia, having large, usually fragrant flowers and an aromatic bark, much cultivated for ornament.
the blossom of any such shrub or tree, as of the evergreen magnolia tree: the state flower of Louisiana and Mississippi.
any tree or shrub of the magnoliaceous genus Magnolia of Asia and North America: cultivated for their white, pink, purple, or yellow showy flowers
the flower of any of these plants
a very pale pinkish-white or purplish-white colour
< New Latin (Linnaeus), after Pierre Magnol (1638–1715), French botanist; see -ia
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We had a massive magnolia tree in the front yard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
Great British Chefs specified that tonka’s “most distinctive feature” is their “enormous potency — heady vanilla flavours, with oily clove aromas, and perfumed magnolia, sandalwood notes.”
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2025
One day, when looking at the large magnolia tree near his institute, “it just clicked”: He could use its leaves instead.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 24, 2024
The scientists tested birch, cherry, and a kind of Japanese magnolia called honoki.
From NewsForKids.net ● Nov. 6, 2024
“Hey, Bobby,” she gives back in a magnolia sort of way, making me feel I’ve almost succeeded.
From "The Misfits" by James Howe
Thanks to a WhatsApp group, neighbors from the 14-story Petunia building where Magnolia lived were able to connect with those looking for their relatives -- from the US, Spain, Dominican Republic, Panama and Ecuador.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
The fire, dubbed the Max fire, broke out around 4:20 p.m. in the hiking area of Pico Canyon Park, near Magnolia Lane, according to the Fire Department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Mellah, then aged 18, made history by winning the Markel Magnolia Cup in 2019, months after riding a horse for the first time.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
In Magnolia, a municipality north of Houston, one supermarket was close to running out of bottled water as Texans bought them out.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
Just Us for Justice occupies the old Taco Bell on Magnolia Avenue, between the car wash and the cash advance place.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
My street has magnolias on it; when they bloom, it takes me back to the magnolias on the street in North Hollywood I lived on when I was a kid.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
Well-known trees such as magnolias are among the most threatened, with oaks, maple and ebonies also at risk.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2024
You will fast be dreaming of a cool breeze under a canopy of mossy live oaks and waxing poetic about longleaf southern pines and fragrant magnolias.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2024
Then forsythia, daffodils, magnolias, robins, and cherry trees, on down the line.
From Slate ● Mar. 24, 2024
In the cold wet, I smell dead magnolias.
From "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
