Meaning & use
floral shears
Last updated
Meanings
nounplural
Small, sharp scissors-like cutters used for trimming flower stems and arranging bouquets.
Grammar: Plural form with singular meaning for one tool: a pair of floral shears, these floral shears.
Patterns
- a pair of floral shears
- cut something with floral shears
She trimmed the roses with floral shears before putting them in the vase.
A good pair of floral shears should cut cleanly without crushing the stem.
The florist kept her floral shears in an apron pocket.
nounplural
A cutting tool for light garden work such as pruning herbs, deadheading flowers or harvesting soft stems.
Grammar: Used in gardening for delicate cutting, not for thick branches.
Patterns
- deadhead with floral shears
I deadheaded the geraniums with floral shears.
He snipped fresh basil with his floral shears.
The sharp floral shears sliced through the soft sunflower stems.
Common combinations
- a pair of floral shears
- I bought a pair of floral shears for the flower beds.
- sharpen floral shears
- Sharpen your floral shears each spring.
- stainless steel floral shears
- Stainless steel floral shears resist rust.
- snip with floral shears
- She snipped the stems with floral shears.
- clean floral shears
- Clean floral shears after use to avoid spreading plant disease.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flower snips
- Flower snips are smaller and often spring-loaded, while floral shears can be a bit larger with longer blades.
- secateurs
- Secateurs are the British word for pruning clippers for woody stems, while floral shears are lighter and for soft stems.
- pruning shears
- Pruning shears can cut thicker, woody growth, whereas floral shears are meant for delicate flowers.
- garden scissors
- Garden scissors is a general phrase and may be simpler in build than floral shears.
Word family
Commonly confused: floral shears or sheers? floral shears or pruning shears?
floral shears vs sheers
Sheers, with an e, are thin curtains, while shears are cutting tools.
floral shears vs pruning shears
Pruning shears are stronger and made for cutting branches, whereas floral shears are lighter for flowers.
Practice
To cut the stems of a bouquet cleanly, the florist picked up her ____.
Choose one answer.
Floral shears are small, sharp cutters for flower stems. A hedge trimmer, tree saw and lawn edger are heavy tools for larger jobs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “floral shears”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.