self-pollinate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
Etymology
Origin of self-pollinate
First recorded in 1885–90
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.
This allows them to self-pollinate instead of relying on birds, insects or other pollinators.
From Salon
When cranberries don't self-pollinate, they rely on bumblebees and honeybees to transport their pollen from flower to flower.
From Salon
In rice, seed companies must first develop a strain of plants that can’t self-pollinate.
From Science Magazine
Most cucumbers can’t self-pollinate, which means that they need the pollen of another plant to form seeds and fruit.
From Seattle Times
The Reginas do not self-pollinate, which is why Fowler needs bees to pick up pollen from other varieties interspersed in the rows — and drop it in the Regina blossoms.
From Seattle Times
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.