flower
Forms
- Plural
- flowers
- present (v1)
- flower
- past (v2)
- flowered
- past participle (v3)
- flowered
- present participle
- flowering
- 3rd person singular
- flowers
Definitions
1.A colorful, conspicuous structure associated with angiosperms, frequently scented and attracting various insects, and which may or may not be used for sexual reproduction.
- The flowers glowed red and golden: snapdragons and sunflowers, and nasturtians trailing all over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows.
2.A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens and/or a pistil.
- You know, Darwin studied their fertilisation, and showed that the whole structure of an ordinary orchid flower was contrived in order that moths might carry the pollen from plant to plant.
3.A plant that bears flowers, especially a plant that is small and lacks wood.
- We transplanted the flowers to a larger pot.
4.The stem of a flowering plant with the blossom or blossoms attached, used for decoration, as a gift, etc.
- He always keeps a vase full of flowers in his office.
1.To put forth blooms.
- This plant flowers in June.
2.To reach a state of full development or achievement.
- It only needed watering to take root, to flower and to fructify, and the watering came in due course.
- In life after life of this now-expanded circle of women artists, writers and revolutionaries, the same appeared: a flowing of creative insight and vision seemed the follow a sexual flowering.
3.To decorate with pictures of flowers.
4.To come off as flowers by sublimation.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #1850
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Uncommon
- General reading & writing
- Common
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Uncommon
Related words
Word family
Etymology
From Middle English flour, from Anglo-Norman flur, from Latin flōrem, accusative of flōs, from Proto-Italic *flōs, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to thrive, bloom”). Doublet of fleur, flor, flour, bloom, and blossom.