tulip

American  

[too-lip, tyoo-] / ˈtu lɪp, ˈtyu- /

noun

1. any of various plants belonging to the genus Tulipa, of the lily family, cultivated in many varieties, and having lance-shaped leaves and large, showy, usually erect, cup-shaped or bell-shaped flowers in a variety of colors.

2. a flower or bulb of such a plant.

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tulip British  

/ ˈtjuːlɪp /

noun

1. any spring-blooming liliaceous plant of the temperate Eurasian genus Tulipa , having tapering bulbs, long broad pointed leaves, and single showy bell-shaped flowers

2. the flower or bulb of any of these plants

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Other Word Forms

• tulip-like adjective
• tuliplike adjective

Etymology

Origin of tulip

1570–80; earlier tulipa < New Latin, apparently back formation from Italian tulipano (taken as adj.) < Turkish tülbent turban (from a fancied likeness); turban

Explanation

A tulip is a flower that grows from a bulb and blooms in the spring. You might give your grandmother a big bouquet of colorful tulips on her birthday. The first tulips were cultivated in 10th-century Persia, and the word tulip stems from the Persian dulband, "turban," which tulips resemble. In the Netherlands during the 17th century, tulips became so wildly popular that the price of the bulbs grew to be approximately ten times the annual salary of a skilled artisan. This period is known as "tulip mania." During this same time, a tulip virus caused variegated, or striped, patterns to appear for the first time on tulip petals.

Example Sentences

In one greenhouse, two women lifted tulip plants out of the ground and used a hand-drawn rolling cart to transport them to a refrigerated shed to await sale.

From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026

To others, however, OpenAI is something akin to tulip mania, the harbinger of the Great Depression, or the next dot-com bubble.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025

There is an annual tulip festival that celebrates Pella’s Dutch heritage.

From Slate • Oct. 22, 2025

Why it should do so now, in a manner similar to the witch delusions that periodically swept medieval Europe or the Dutch tulip mania, has been much debated.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2025

The letter psi, in Greek, is shaped like a tulip.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt