topiary

American  

[toh-pee-er-ee] / ˈtoʊ piˌɛr i /

adjective

1. (of a plant) clipped or trimmed into fantastic shapes.

2. of or relating to such trimming.

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noun

topiaries plural

1. topiary work; the topiary art.

2. a garden containing such work.

topiary British  

/ ˈtəʊpɪərɪ, ˌtəʊpɪˈɛərɪən /

adjective

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

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noun

1. 1. topiary work

   2. a topiary garden

2. the art of topiary

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• topiarist
  noun
• topiarian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• topiaries
  plural

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

topiary topiaries

The piece will run about seven hours from sundown to sunrise, 365 days a year, just across the street from Jeff Koons’ monumental topiary sculpture “Split-Rocker.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

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’s imperative that you do for your topiary plant what nobody else will do for you,” he said.

From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024

Water regularly, too: That can be as often as daily, especially if your topiary is in a small pot outside in summer.

From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024

Grover stood in the middle, facing three really old, really fat satyrs who sat on topiary thrones shaped out of rose bushes.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan

Many trees, shrubs, sub-shrubs and even vines can become topiaries, he has discovered, but some are easier, better or faster.

From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024

The topiaries, scorched from the onslaught, had to be replaced almost every year.

From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2023

We enter a garden filled with tiny topiaries and concrete animals, dodge a child holding a birthday balloon, and a heavenly vanilla breeze moves out from a bakeshop and toward me like a small warhead.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 17, 2023

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

Shrubs that had been tidy topiaries had grown into great shaggy trees, and bowers of blooming vines had overspilled their neat beds to riot up the walls and columns and drape over the railing.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Related Words

• forest
• sapling
• seedling
• shrub
• timber
• wood