topiary

[ toh-pee-er-ee ]

See synonyms for topiary on Thesaurus.com

adjective

(of a plant) clipped or trimmed into fantastic shapes.
of or relating to such trimming.

noun,plural to·pi·ar·ies.

topiary work; the topiary art.
a garden containing such work.

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

Words Nearby topiary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use topiary in a sentence

Cut it as a topiary à la Edward Scissorhands for a little architectural interest.
My Best Of’s in D.C. real estate | Valerie Blake | October 23, 2021 | Washington Blade
He took meeting after meeting with giddy Hollywood executives and pitched them his followup—a sci-fi epic called A topiary.
‘Upstream Color,’ Shane Carruth’s Sci-Fi Drama, Is the Year’s Craziest Film (So Far) | Marlow Stern | April 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
He cross-breeds a rocking horse and rocking dinosaur, and then realizes the hybrid as a house-high topiary.
How Jeff Koons Keeps It Real | Blake Gopnik | June 21, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Real name Hector Monsegur, he helped the FBI level charges on U.K.-based team members topiary and Kayla.
Anonymous Member Speaks About Divide in the Collective’s Mission | Parmy Olson | June 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
One of them was topiary, an alleged leader of the LulzSec group.
The Godfather of Hacking | Brian Ries | August 19, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST

Brazil, the home of facelifts, Gisele Bündchen, and pubic topiary—clearly they know beauty.
My Illegal, Flammable, Fabulous Hair Treatment | Laura Bennett | July 10, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
These topiary hedges were known to the Romans, with whom the topiarius was the ornamental gardener.
Amusements in Mathematics | Henry Ernest Dudeney
The basin which formerly occupied the centre was replaced some years ago by a block of yew surmounted by topiary figures.
Mazes and Labyrinths | W. H. Matthews
She had glimpses of unkempt grass paths and unclipped topiary work which had lost its original form.
The Shuttle | Frances Hodgson Burnett
Rapin was a great admirer of box and all topiary works, or trees cut into artificial forms.
Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries, Vol. 2 | Henry Hallam
There is a quaint charm in the results of the topiary art, in the prim imagery of evergreens, that all ages have felt.
Garden Design and Architects' Gardens | W. Robinson

British Dictionary definitions for topiary

topiary

/ (ˈtəʊpɪərɪ) /

adjective

of, relating to, or characterized by the trimming or training of trees or bushes into artificial decorative animal, geometric, or other shapes

noun

plural -aries
- topiary work
- a topiary garden
the art of topiary

Origin of topiary

C16: from French topiaire, from Latin topia decorative garden work, from Greek topion little place, from topos place

Derived forms of topiary

topiarian (ˌtəʊpɪˈɛərɪən), adjective
topiarist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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