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mock orange

noun
  1. 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.
  2. any of various other shrubs or trees having flowers or fruit resembling those of the orange, as the laurel cherry.
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Origin of mock orange

First recorded in 1725–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for mock orange

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • "Never mind, Prue; we'll give him a mock-orange some day," said her mother.

British Dictionary definitions for mock orange

mock orange

noun
  1. Also called: syringa any shrub of the genus Philadelphus, esp P. coronarius, with white fragrant flowers that resemble those of the orange: family Philadelphaceae
  2. any other shrub or tree that resembles the orange tree
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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