Meaning & use
clover leaf
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Meanings
nouncountable
one of the small round leaves that grow in groups of three on a clover plant.
Grammar: Countable: one clover leaf, two clover leaves.
Patterns
- a clover leaf
- clover leaves
She picked a single clover leaf and pressed it in her book.
The field was full of tiny clover leaves shining after the rain.
A clover leaf has three leaflets, which is why it looks like a small fan.
nouncountable
a shape or pattern that looks like a clover leaf, with three rounded parts joined in the middle.
Grammar: Countable; often used before another noun, as in clover leaf pattern.
Patterns
- a clover leaf pattern
- in the shape of a clover leaf
The old iron gate was decorated with a clover leaf design.
The tiles were laid in a clover leaf pattern.
Word forms
| plural | clover leaves |
|---|
Common combinations
- a four-leaf clover
- Finding a four-leaf clover is supposed to bring good luck.
- clover leaf pattern
- The wallpaper had a repeating clover leaf pattern.
- pick a clover leaf
- As children we would pick clover leaves in the meadow.
- clover leaf shape
- The pendant was cut into a clover leaf shape.
Synonyms and how they differ
- trefoil
- A more formal or technical word for a plant with leaves in three parts; it is used in botany and heraldry, not for a single leaf.
Word family
- clover noun
- The whole plant with its three-part leaves.
Commonly confused: clover leaf or cloverleaf?
clover leaf vs cloverleaf
One word, cloverleaf, usually means a road junction shaped like a clover; two words, clover leaf, usually means a leaf of the clover plant.
Practice
Which sentence uses the correct plural form?
Choose one answer.
The plural of clover leaf is clover leaves, because leaf changes to leaves. 'Clover leafs' is wrong, and 'clover leaf' is singular, not plural.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “clover leaf”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.