Meaning & use
petal
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Meaning
nouncountable
One of the colored, leaf-like parts that together form the outer part of a flower.
Grammar: Countable: a petal, many petals, or the petals of a flower.
Patterns
- flower petal
- rose petal
- petals fall
The rose has soft red petals.
She picked a flower and counted its petals.
Petals fell from the tree and covered the ground.
Word forms
| plural | petals |
|---|
Common combinations
- rose petal
- The cake was decorated with rose petals.
- flower petal
- Each flower petal is a different shade of pink.
- petal fall
- After petal fall, the fruit begins to grow.
Word family
- petaled adjective
- Having petals, often used in compounds like 'many-petaled'.
- petal-like adjective
- Resembling a petal in shape or color.
Commonly confused: petal or sepal? petal or pedal?
petal vs sepal
Sepals are the green, leaf-like parts that protect the flower bud; petals are usually colorful and attract pollinators.
petal vs pedal
A pedal is a foot-operated lever, like on a bicycle; a petal is part of a flower.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'petal' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option B correctly uses 'petals' as the colorful parts of a flower. Option A uses 'pedal' (a foot lever), option C confuses 'petal' with 'pedal' or 'knee', and option D incorrectly defines a sepal as a petal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “petal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.