Meaning & use
lily
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A plant that grows from a bulb and has large, often sweet-smelling flowers with petals that open wide.
Grammar: A lily is one plant or one flower; lilies are more than one.
Patterns
- a lily bulb
- lilies in bloom
- a bouquet of lilies
She planted lily bulbs along the garden path.
The white lilies in the vase filled the room with a sweet scent.
Lilies usually flower in late spring or early summer.
nouncountable
The flower of this plant, often used as a symbol of purity, especially at Easter or funerals.
Grammar: Often used in the plural when talking about flowers in general.
Patterns
- Easter lilies
- funeral lilies
- a lily in her hand
The church was decorated with Easter lilies.
He placed a single lily on the grave.
In many cultures, the lily stands for innocence and renewal.
Word forms
| plural | lilies |
|---|
Common combinations
- water lily
- Water lilies floated on the surface of the pond.
- tiger lily
- Tiger lilies have orange petals with dark spots.
- lily of the valley
- Lily of the valley is a small plant with bell-shaped white flowers.
- gild the lily
- Adding more decorations would just gild the lily.
Word family
- lilied adjective
- Literary or poetic: covered with lilies or lily-like.
Commonly confused: lily or Lilly?
lily vs Lilly
Lilly is a female name; lily is the flower. The spelling with two l's is usually a person's name.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'lily' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Lily' is a flower, so wearing one in your hair makes sense. The other options describe things a flower cannot do.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lily”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.