sunflower
Americannoun
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sunflowers
plural
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any of various composite plants of the genus Helianthus, as H. annuus, having showy, yellow-rayed flower heads often 12 inches (30 centimeters) wide, and edible seeds that yield an oil with a wide variety of uses: the state flower of Kansas.
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Also called aster. Furniture. a conventionalized flower motif carved in the center panels of a Connecticut chest.
noun
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any of several American plants of the genus Helianthus, esp H. annuus, having very tall thick stems, large flower heads with yellow rays, and seeds used as food, esp for poultry: family Asteraceae (composites) See also Jerusalem artichoke
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the oil extracted from sunflower seeds, used as a salad oil, in the manufacture of margarine, etc
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sunflower
First recorded in 1555–65; translation of Latin flōs sōlis “flower of the sun”
Vocabulary lists containing sunflower
Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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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.
See Examples For:
Their home runs started the sunflower seed showers in a nine-run inning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
On the bank of one of its branches, farmer Federica Vidali looked anxiously at her sunflower field.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
Hugh, who runs a sunflower farm in Pembrokeshire, said he wanted to encourage farmers to seek medical help when needed and not "hold back" like he had in the past.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Palm oil prices fell due to weaker import demand expectations and uncertainty in crude markets, while rapeseed and sunflower oil prices rose on tightening supplies, particularly in the European Union and Ukraine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Theo spits a sunflower seed at me that lands on my arm.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
Even more surprising were the endless fields of corn, rapeseed and sunflowers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
An ever-growing pile of bouquets of lilies, daisies and sunflowers and notes sits at the base of a large palm tree outside the mosque gates.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
And so the same peloton will be hurtling along the cobbles a couple of months before gliding through the sunflowers of a French summer.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
It’s on the same plot as our old cottage, with the same view over peaceful fields of wheat and sunflowers, but with a more-solid foundation, crack-free walls and better heating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
There was a small stain across an intricately threaded flower in shades of gold, part of a landscape that portrayed rows of tall sunflowers near a pale green stream.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
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.
