polygamous
Americanadjective
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of, pertaining to, characterized by, or practicing polygamy; polygamic.
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Botany. bearing both unisexual and hermaphrodite flowers on the same or on different plants of the same species.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of polygamous
From the Greek word polýgamos, dating back to 1605–15. See poly-, -gamous
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Explanation
Someone who's polygamous has more than one husband or wife. Polygamous societies still exist, but it's more common for most people today to be married to one person at a time. You can describe someone with seven husbands as polygamous, and you can also use the word to describe an animal with several mates as well as a plant with a particularly varied reproductive system. The Late Greek source is polygamos, "often married," which combines the roots polys, "many," and gamos, "marriage."
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.
Like capybaras in the wild, zoo capybaras are polygamous, with one alpha male and several females forming a sort of harem.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
Cabinet member for Financial Sustainability, Simon Radford, says polygamous working is a "great example of where people are abusing and wasting taxpayers' money and we won't tolerate that".
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026
The practice, known as polygamous working, has arguably become more prevalent with the growth in remote working but it can be potentially unlawful depending on your employment contract.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026
The new study supports this assumption: In polygamous mammals with strong competition, males generally die earlier than females.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2025
Berry large, globular, surrounded at base by the thickish calyx, 4–8-celled, 4–8-seeded.—Flowers diœciously polygamous, the fertile axillary and solitary, the sterile smaller and often clustered.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Asa Gray
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