mock orange

noun

Also called syringa. any of various shrubs belonging to the genus Philadelphus, of the saxifrage family, especially P. coronarius, a widely cultivated species having fragrant white flowers.

any of various other shrubs or trees having flowers or fruit resembling those of the orange, as the laurel cherry.

Origin of mock orange

First recorded in 1725–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mock orange

Historical Examples of mock orange

They held their breath; and I held mine, pressing my body into the mock-orange bush until the twigs cracked.
The Adventures of Harry Revel
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
Being town-bred and unused to owls, I took it for a human cry in the darkness and shrank closer against my mock-orange bush.
The Adventures of Harry Revel
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
The breath of blown Peonies scents the summer air along with the languorous odor of the mock-orange flowers.
A Garden with House Attached
Sarah Warner Brooks
The gravel walks were bordered with great lilac-bushes, mock-orange, and bridal-wreath.
A Collection of Stories, Reviews and Essays
Willa Cather
"Never mind, Prue; we'll give him a mock-orange some day," said her mother.
A Little Garden Calendar for Boys and Girls
Albert Bigelow Paine

British Dictionary definitions for mock orange

mock orange

noun

Also called: syringa any shrub of the genus Philadelphus, esp P. coronarius, with white fragrant flowers that resemble those of the orange: family Philadelphaceae

any other shrub or tree that resembles the orange tree

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