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oleander

American  
[oh-lee-an-der, oh-lee-an-] / ˈoʊ liˌæn dər, ˌoʊ liˈæn- /

noun

  1. a poisonous shrub, Nerium oleander, of the dogbane family, native to southern Eurasia, having evergreen leaves and showy clusters of pink, red, or white flowers, and widely cultivated as an ornamental.


oleander British  
/ ˌəʊlɪˈændə /

noun

  1. Also called: rosebay.  a poisonous evergreen Mediterranean apocynaceous shrub or tree, Nerium oleander, with fragrant white, pink, or purple flowers

"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

Etymology

Origin of oleander

1540–50; < Medieval Latin oleander, oliandrum, obscurely akin to Late Latin laurandrum, perhaps a conflation of Latin laurus laurel and rhododendron rhododendron

Vocabulary lists containing oleander

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.

Oleandrin comes from Nerium oleander, a shrub that is deadly to humans; scientists warned the New York Times that the compound was not known to be safe.

From Slate • Dec. 11, 2025

He’d woken up in an oleander bush with no memory of how he’d gotten there.

From Salon • Jan. 7, 2025

Oleandrin is a poisonous substance found in the leaves of the oleander plant.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 11, 2023

A quick survey revealed that until then, the city’s gardeners had relied mainly on three kinds of trees: the palm, the ficus and the oleander, Mudendin recalled.

From Washington Post • Nov. 7, 2021

Ethan maneuvers his truck down the narrow path and we are swallowed up by overgrown oleander, pink and white blooms brushing our windows.

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

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