bonsai
Americannoun
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bonsai
plural
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a tree or shrub that has been dwarfed, as by pruning the roots and pinching, and is grown in a pot or other container and trained to produce a desired shape or effect.
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the art or hobby of developing and growing such a plant or plants.
noun
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the art of growing dwarfed ornamental varieties of trees or shrubs in small shallow pots or trays by selective pruning, etc
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a tree or shrub grown by this method
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bonsai
1945–50; < Japanese bon-sai tray planting < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese pén tray + zāi plant, shoot
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.
Washington also approved trial imports of certain bonsai products from China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
His dream, he said, is to create a "large national bonsai collection", something he had already begun laying the groundwork for.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
She suggested having one plan in place for a caretaker if the bonsai owner falls ill and another for bequeathing the tree.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2024
There's some bonsai and a lot of bowing.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2024
She makes the most of what she has, filling the window nook with houseplants of all kinds, a bonsai weeping willow, a towering ficus with drooping fronds, a fiddle-leaf fig.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
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.
