flower

[ flou-er ]

noun

1. the blossom of a plant:

   She picked a bunch of flowers for her mother.

   He always wore a flower in his lapel, usually a carnation.

2. Botany.
   1. the part of a seed plant comprising the reproductive organs and their envelopes if any, especially when such envelopes are more or less conspicuous in form and color.
   2. an analogous reproductive structure in other plants, as the mosses.
3. a plant considered with reference to its blossom or cultivated for its floral beauty:

   If it doesn’t rain today, I’ll need to water the flowers in the garden.

4. an ornament or decoration representing a flower:

   She doesn’t like any fabric that has flowers on it.

   The classroom walls were decorated with cheery flowers painted by the children.

5. an ornament or adornment:

   I felt like I was being told to be just a flower, but I wanted to have input and share my ideas.

6. Also called fleuron, floret. Printing. an ornamental piece of type, especially a stylized floral design, often used in a line to decorate chapter headings, page borders, or bindings.
7. the choicest or finest part, member, or example:

   Emigration took the flower of the nation’s youth, desperate for a better life.

   It was a love poem, calling her “the flower of humanity” and other romantic epithets.

8. the bud of the cannabis or hemp plant, or such buds collectively, secreting over 100 different cannabinoids:

   For testing purposes, you only need to bring in one cannabis flower for analysis.

   This is high-quality cannabis flower, with 12 to 18 percent THC.

9. flowers, (used with a singular verb) Chemistry. a substance in the form of a fine powder, especially as obtained by sublimation:

   flowers of sulfur.

verb (used without object)

1. to produce flowers; blossom; come to full bloom:

   This shrub usually flowers in June.

2. to come into full development; mature:

   Regular air passenger service did not flower till after World War II.

   Synonyms: ripen, blossom, bloom, flourish, develop

verb (used with object)

1. to decorate with a floral design:

   The skirt of the dress is flowered.

2. to cover or deck with flowers:

   For the wedding photos, they flowered the church steps with roses.

flower

/ ˈflaʊə /

noun

1. 1. a bloom or blossom on a plant
   2. a plant that bears blooms or blossoms
2. the reproductive structure of angiosperm plants, consisting normally of stamens and carpels surrounded by petals and sepals all borne on the receptacle (one or more of these structures may be absent). In some plants it is conspicuous and brightly coloured and attracts insects or other animals for pollination floral antho-
3. any similar reproductive structure in other plants
4. the prime; peak

   in the flower of his youth

5. the choice or finest product, part, or representative

   the flower of the young men

6. a decoration or embellishment
7. printing a type ornament, used with others in borders, chapter headings, etc
8. Also calledfleuron an embellishment or ornamental symbol depicting a flower
9. plural fine powder, usually produced by sublimation

   flowers of sulphur

verb

1. intr to produce flowers; bloom
2. intr to reach full growth or maturity
3. tr to deck or decorate with flowers or floral designs

flower

/ flou′ər /

1. The reproductive structure of the seed-bearing plants known as angiosperms. A flower may contain up to four whorls or arrangements of parts: carpels, stamens, petals, and sepals. The female reproductive organs consist of one or more carpels . Each carpel includes an ovary, style, and stigma. A single carpel or a group of fused carpels is sometimes called a pistil. The male reproductive parts are the stamens, made up of a filament and anther. The reproductive organs may be enclosed in an inner whorl of petals and an outer whorl of sepals. Flowers first appeared over 120 million years ago and have evolved a great diversity of forms and coloration in response to the agents that pollinate them. Some flowers produce nectar to attract animal pollinators, and these flowers are often highly adapted to specific groups of pollinators. Flowers pollinated by moths, such as species of jasmine and nicotiana, are often pale and fragrant in order to be found in the evening, while those pollinated by birds, such as fuschias, are frequently red and odorless, since birds have good vision but a less developed sense of smell. Wind-pollinated flowers, such as those of oak trees or grass, are usually drab and inconspicuous.
2. See Note at pollination

flower

1. The part of a plant that produces the seed. It usually contains petals, a pistil , and pollen -bearing stamens .

Derived Forms

• ˈflower-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• re·flow·er verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of flower¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English flour “flower, best of anything,” from Old French flor, flour, flur, from Latin flōr-, stem of flōs; bloom ¹( def ), flour

Word History and Origins

Origin of flower¹

C13: from Old French flor , from Latin flōs ; see blow ³

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in flower,
   1. blossoming; having open blooms:

      Peonies were in flower.

   2. in the period of finest or greatest flourishing; at the peak of development:

      English poetic drama was in flower during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Example Sentences

So, in May and June 2023, a team of biologists followed wolves from three different packs as they foraged in flower patches.

From Science Magazine

You need serious flowers — distinctive, unusual and befitting a special occasion.

From Los Angeles Times

He gave me some nice flowers during the show, but he also told me backstage, “You would have known a long time ago if I wasn’t cool with this.”

From Los Angeles Times

Dozens of members of the public attend court in Avignon each day to back Ms Pelicot, meeting her with applause and handing her flowers.

From BBC

Colleagues and residents threw Mrs Pritchard a retirement party with cake, flowers and champagne to say farewell.

From BBC

Related Words

• blossom
• burgeon
• mature
• prosper
• thrive
• unfold