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  • mayflower
    mayflower
    noun
    any of various plants that blossom in May, such as the hepatica or anemone in the United States, and the hawthorn or cowslip in England.
  • Mayflower
    Mayflower
    noun
    the ship in which the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Plymouth to Massachusetts in 1620

mayflower

American  
[mey-flou-er] / ˈmeɪˌflaʊ ər /

noun

  1. any of various plants that blossom in May, such as the hepatica or anemone in the United States, and the hawthorn or cowslip in England.

  2. trailing arbutus.

  3. Mayflower, the ship in which the Pilgrims sailed from Southampton, England, to North America in 1620.


Mayflower 1 British  
/ ˈmeɪˌflaʊə /

noun

  1. the ship in which the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Plymouth to Massachusetts in 1620

"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

mayflower 2 British  
/ ˈmeɪˌflaʊə /

noun

  1. any of various plants that bloom in May

  2. another name for trailing arbutus

  3. another name for hawthorn cowslip marsh marigold

"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

Mayflower Cultural  
  1. The ship that carried the Pilgrims to America. It made a permanent landing near Plymouth Rock in 1620, after the Pilgrims had agreed to the Mayflower Compact.


Etymology

Origin of mayflower

First recorded in 1560–70; May + flower

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.

“Epigea” refers to Epigaea repens, commonly known as trailing arbutus or mayflower: a low-growing shrub that produces clusters of pink flowers.

From Slate • May 17, 2016

Others make the world better for their beauty and fragrance and of these the ground laurel, the trailing arbutus, the mayflower, is best known and loved.

From Old Plymouth Trails by Packard, Winthrop

The delicate and fragrant blossoms of the mayflower made the wooded hillsides sweet, and birds were singing and building their nests in the mild breezes, under the cloud-flecked sky.

From The History of the United States from 1492 to 1910, Volume 1 From Discovery of America October 12, 1492 to Battle of Lexington April 19, 1775 by Hawthorne, Julian

Like the mayflower, they love the woods, and will not be naturalized in the garden.

From The Function of the Poet and Other Essays by Lowell, James Russell

"But you—I don't see, when you have talked with her, as you must have done, you are so intimate with her—about your mayflower business and everything—how you could help mentioning our scrimmage."

From Hope Benham A Story for Girls by Perry, Nora

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