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.
an analogous reproductive structure in other plants, as the mosses.
a plant, considered with reference to its blossom or cultivated for its floral beauty.
state of efflorescence or bloom: Peonies were in flower.
an ornament representing a flower.
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.
an ornament or adornment.
the finest or most flourishing period: Poetic drama was in flower in Elizabethan England.
the best or finest member or part of a number, body, or whole: the flower of American youth.
the finest or choicest product or example.
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)
to produce flowers; blossom; come to full bloom.
to come out into full development; mature.
verb (used with object)
to cover or deck with flowers.
to decorate with a floral design.
Origin of flower
1150–1200; Middle English flour flower, best of anything <Old French flor, flour, flur<Latin flōr- (stem of flōs). Cf. blossom
Like other male mosquitoes, they drink flower nectar, not blood.
Genetically modified mosquitoes have been OK’d for a first U.S. test flight|Susan Milius|August 22, 2020|Science News
“You could also send flowers on the day of the wedding or bring a card to the wedding and give them that instead,” she says.
A guide to giving gifts for postponed and shrunken weddings|Brooke Henderson|August 20, 2020|Fortune
After the adult emerges, it drinks nectar from flowers and mates.
Pesticides contaminate most food of western U.S. monarchs|Rebecca E. Hirsch|August 17, 2020|Science News For Students
Afterward, women at the temple performed their usual routine — praying to Hindu deities and offering fruits and flowers.
Why do we miss the rituals put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic?|Sujata Gupta|August 14, 2020|Science News
Making drone pollination practical would require flying robots that can recognize flowers and deftly target specific blossoms, the researchers say.
Bubble-blowing drones may one day aid artificial pollination|Maria Temming|June 22, 2020|Science News
He felt his body grow limp (like one of those high-speed films of a flower wilting).
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I decorated with marigolds, which are considered the flower of the dead.
New Orleans’ Carnivalesque Day of the Dead|Jason Berry|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“A flower crown more appropriately aligned with who I am and where we were,” says Greenstein.
Flower Crowns Are Phony and Must Die|Sara Lieberman|September 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Let the flower crown represent you, or rather go on and represent the flower crown—preferably on a farm somewhere.
Flower Crowns Are Phony and Must Die|Sara Lieberman|September 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Every flower, every blade of grass, every tree had to be created in CG.
James Cameron Dives into the Ocean's Abyss|Andrew Romano|July 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On the way Bova bethought him how he could have deserved such a shameful death, and to lose his life in the flower of his days.
The Russian Garland|Various
He took a flower from a vase, and put it into the hand that was cold.
The Arena|Various
You mean the common reed-grass, no doubt; it is not yet in flower, but you will see it in August and September.
Country Walks of a Naturalist with His Children|W. Houghton
A shaft of sunlight had strayed over from the flower field and was loitering on his unpowdered hair, beating it into gold.
Through the Gates of Old Romance|W. Jay Mills
Miss Polly shook her head, that, with its golden brown ringlets, looked very much like a flower itself.
Killykinick|Mary T. Waggaman
British Dictionary definitions for flower
flower
/ (ˈflaʊə) /
noun
a bloom or blossom on a plant
a plant that bears blooms or blossoms
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 pollinationRelated adjective: floral Related prefix: antho-
any similar reproductive structure in other plants
the prime; peakin the flower of his youth
the choice or finest product, part, or representativethe flower of the young men
a decoration or embellishment
printinga type ornament, used with others in borders, chapter headings, etc
Also called: fleuronan embellishment or ornamental symbol depicting a flower
(plural)fine powder, usually produced by sublimationflowers of sulphur
verb
(intr)to produce flowers; bloom
(intr)to reach full growth or maturity
(tr)to deck or decorate with flowers or floral designs
Derived forms of flower
flower-like, adjective
Word Origin for flower
C13: from Old French flor, from Latin flōs; see blow ³
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. See Note at pollination.