any of various plants, especially of the genera Ipomoea and Convolvulus, as I. purpurea, a twining plant having cordate leaves and funnel-shaped flowers of various colors, often opening only in the morning.
a racehorse that runs faster in morning workouts than in afternoon races.
An Americanism dating back to 1805–15
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She had a Spanish-style house with bright morning glory vines where she hosted a neighborhood screening of “To Catch a Thief” on her front lawn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025
First consideration: Does a particular vine twine like a morning glory, wrapping its stems around its support, or does it cling with tendrils, like sweet peas?
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
I’ll go first: Many years ago, I sowed a handful of morning glory seeds at the foot of the arbor surrounding my front gate.
From Washington Times ● May 24, 2022
She offers numerous ingredient substitutions throughout the book, especially when it comes to condiments, like fish sauce and tamarind pulp, and sometimes harder-to-find produce, such as long beans and water morning glory.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2022
The blossoms on the morning glory vine were little tight blue fists, and you could hear husky sighing from the cornfield across the fence.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
The analysis showed average air temperatures below 66 or above 77 degrees Fahrenheit made fomesafen, glyphosate, and mesotrione -- representing three herbicide sites of action -- less effective on waterhemp, giant foxtail, and morning-glory species.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 19, 2024
It’s lovely in its way, with a mass of morning-glory vines softening things up, and, in lieu of actual trees, a mural of woodland scenes painted along the outside wall.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 28, 2010
It had proved effective against bindweed, a wild morning-glory that is the worst weed in western grain fields. 2,4-D killed bindweed without hurting the grain. 2,4-D was only one chemical weeder.
From Time Magazine Archive
The rate of expenditure is climbing like a morning-glory in a hot dawn.
From Time Magazine Archive
A bureau of cherry-tree wood, with two or three stiff wooden chairs, an oaken arm-chair with a broad, splint bottom, stood by the window, with its curtain of sweetbrier and morning-glory vines.
From Silent Struggles by Stephens, Ann S. (Ann Sophia)
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.
