foliage
Americannoun
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the leaves of a plant, collectively; leafage.
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leaves in general.
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the representation of leaves, flowers, and branches in painting, architectural ornament, etc.
noun
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the green leaves of a plant
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sprays of leaves used for decoration
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an ornamental leaflike design
Other Word Forms
- foliaged adjective
- unfoliaged adjective
Etymology
Origin of foliage
1400–50; late Middle English foilage < Middle French fueillage, foillage, derivative of feuille leaf; influenced by Latin folium folium. See foil 2, -age
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.
In the mornings, Christine eagerly awaits the brightly colored, highly vocal birds swooping into their garden, whooping their greetings before flying off into the junglelike foliage.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
And there’s “scorch,” at the low end, when radiant heat, not flame, kills the crown but leaves dead foliage in place.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
One of these, a sinuous swirl of foliage at the base of the cathedral’s great lectern, tells us what the Art Nouveau architects of a later generation were looking at.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026
Well you're not cursed and you don't need particularly green fingers for your to foliage to thrive, you just need to know where you might be going wrong, experts say.
From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026
Sunlight filtered through the shifting foliage and dappled the seafloor.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
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.
