When pollen is carried into the air by the wind, it frequently causes allergic reactions (see allergy) in humans.
1515–25; < New Latin, special use of Latin: fine flour, mill dust
Pollen is the grainy stuff inside a flowering plant that makes it possible for the plant to reproduce. Insects, birds, people, and the wind help to spread pollen between plants. When pollen spreads to the female part of a plant, it germinates, or begins the process of growing a new plant. When pollen spreads like this, it's called pollination, and it's how plants reproduce. Pollen is great for plants but not so great if you have hay fever, an allergy to pollen. The first meaning of pollen was "fine flour," which is what pollen looks like.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There’s a purpose to the stench: attracting flies and beetles to help carry pollen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Rain usually helps wash pollen out of the air, but with dry weather expected to persist for several more days, concentrations can build steadily.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
In addition to the heat many are also struggling with the high levels of pollen.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Bumblebees collect smaller amounts of pollen from fewer plant species, making their exposure more dependent on whether those particular plants contain elevated metal levels.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
Because wind frequently blows pollen from one small maize field onto another, varieties are constantly mixing.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Pollen collected by bumblebees contained between two and seven times more heavy metals than pollen collected by honeybees across most of the metals examined.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
Pollen levels will remain high or very high for many areas of England.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Pollen and Isherwood honored the contract, but the government didn’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
All six are now being looked after by Ms Pollen, whose task is to socialise the animals, as well as monitor their progress.
From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2026
They made Pollen Boy right in the center of the white corn painting.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
It is estimated that 13 million people in the UK suffer from hay fever - an allergy to different pollens.
From BBC ● May 30, 2025
Some of the most common tree pollens that cause allergies include birch, cedar, cottonwood, maple, elm, oak and walnut, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2024
She also explains that asthma is likely influenced by where someone lives—exposure to pollutants as well as the types of pollens or allergens can differ from region to region.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 20, 2023
The companies' services focus on diagnosis and treatment of environmental allergies such as pets, dust, pollens, and grasses.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2023
Plants from two pollens grow at different rates!
From More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 1 by Darwin, Francis, Sir
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.
