topiary
Americanadjective
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(of a plant) clipped or trimmed into fantastic shapes.
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of or relating to such trimming.
noun
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topiaries
plural
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topiary work; the topiary art.
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a garden containing such work.
adjective
noun
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topiary work
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a topiary garden
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the art of topiary
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of topiary
1585–95; < Latin topiārius pertaining to landscape-gardening or to ornamental gardens, equivalent to topi ( a ) (plural) artificial landscape (< Greek tópia (singular topion ), diminutive of tópos place) + -ārius -ary
Explanation
If you practice topiary in your yard, you'll end up with shrubs and hedges in the shapes of unicorns, lions, and giant prairie dogs, since topiary means cutting bushes into fun shapes. Topiary is probably the only art form that requires both muscle power and pruning shears: carefully trimming live shrubs to give them artful shapes. Large, groomed gardens are the most likely spots to see the result of topiary, either in the form of animals, geometric shapes, or mazes. The Latin root of topiary is topiarius, "pertaining to ornamental gardening," from the Greek topos, or "place."
Vocabulary lists containing topiary
2015 National Spelling Bee Words
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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:
Mapperton, near Beaminster, is an Italianate fantasy in a steep coombe studded with topiary and sky-reflecting pools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
It also recently announced the installation of “Split-Rocker,” a monumental topiary sculpture by the artist Jeff Koons, which will anchor the new building.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025
A look behind the scenes as artist Jeff Koons begins work installing the first of 50,000 flowering plants in his monumental topiary sculpture ‘Split-Rocker,’ which anchors LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2025
Seeing that most familiar of springtime garden-center offerings transformed in this way elicits smiles — and questions about how topiary happens.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
Rowan made a beeline to him, pulling him aside behind a topiary hedge.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
The trickiest part for the gardener who is new to potted topiaries of any species?
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
The topiaries, scorched from the onslaught, had to be replaced almost every year.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2023
Or add topiaries on each side of your door, Nayak says.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 6, 2021
While the parks are closed, teams are still maintaining the topiaries, many of which are trimmed to look like various Disney characters.
From Fox News ● Apr. 23, 2020
The topiaries that had once been pruned with aspirations toward the baroque finished in a hopeless, tortured state, besieged by snails and disease.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
