Meaning & use
pollen
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
A fine powder made by flowers that is carried by wind or insects and fertilizes other plants.
Grammar: No plural: say 'pollen', not 'pollens'; for single particles use 'pollen grains'.
Patterns
- pollen from something
- be covered in pollen
- carry pollen
In spring the air is full of pollen from the trees.
Bees carry pollen from one flower to another.
Her car was covered in yellow pollen.
noununcountable
The powder from certain plants that causes an allergic reaction in some people.
Grammar: Often used before another noun: pollen count, pollen allergy.
Patterns
- pollen count
- pollen allergy
- be allergic to pollen
The pollen count is very high today, so stay indoors if you can.
He takes tablets for his pollen allergy.
Many people suffer from pollen in early summer.
Common combinations
- pollen count
- The pollen count rises on warm, windy days.
- pollen grain
- Each pollen grain is too small to see.
- bee pollen
- Some people add bee pollen to their breakfast.
- pollen allergy
- Her pollen allergy makes her sneeze all spring.
- covered in pollen
- The table outside was covered in pollen.
Word family
- pollinate verb
- To carry pollen to a flower so it can make seeds.
- pollination noun
- The process of moving pollen between flowers.
- pollinator noun
- An animal, such as a bee, that carries pollen.
Commonly confused: pollen or pollutant?
pollen vs pollutant
A pollutant is a harmful substance in air or water; pollen is a natural plant powder.
Practice
The bees carry ___ from flower to flower.
Choose one answer.
'Pollen' is uncountable, so it has no plural and no article: 'carry pollen'. 'Pollens' and 'a pollen' are wrong because we do not count it in everyday speech.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pollen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.