Meaning & use
flower
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Meanings
nouncountable
The colorful part of a plant, often sweet-smelling, that makes seeds, or a whole small plant grown for this part.
Grammar: Has a plural: one flower, many flowers.
Patterns
- a flower of something
- flowers for someone
She planted red flowers along the garden path.
A single flower stood in the vase on the table.
The bees were busy moving between the flowers.
verbintransitive
To produce flowers, or to open into bloom.
Grammar: No object: the roses flowered early.
The cherry tree flowers in early April.
These bulbs will flower for years if left undisturbed.
The cactus flowered after a long dry spell.
verbintransitivefigurative
To develop fully and show the best qualities of something, such as a talent or a relationship.
Grammar: No object; figurative use: her talent flowered.
His talent for music flowered in high school.
Their friendship flowered over shared walks.
The arts flowered in the city during the 1500s.
Word forms
| plural | flowers |
|---|---|
| third person singular | flowers |
| past tense | flowered |
| past participle | flowered |
| -ing form | flowering |
Common combinations
- wild flower
- Wild flowers covered the hillside.
- cut flowers
- She buys cut flowers every Friday.
- bunch of flowers
- He brought a bunch of flowers to the hospital.
- flower in spring
- Daffodils flower in spring.
- flower bed
- We weeded the flower bed on Saturday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bloom
- Bloom is more poetic and often means a single flower at its best, while flower is the ordinary word.
- blossom
- Blossom usually names flowers on fruit trees, or the act of opening, whereas flower covers all plants.
- thrive
- Thrive can replace the figurative verb sense but has no connection to plants specifically.
- develop
- Develop is neutral, while flower suggests developing beautifully.
Opposites
Word family
- flowery adjective
- decorated with flowers, or using fancy language
- flowering adjective
- producing flowers
- flowerpot noun
- a container for plants
Commonly confused: flower or flour?
flower vs flour
Flour is the powder used for baking. It sounds the same as flower but is spelled differently.
Practice
Which sentence uses flower as a verb?
Choose one answer.
In the orchid sentence, flower is an action that the plant does. In the others it is a noun or part of a compound noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flower”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.