Meaning & use
vinca
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small plant with shiny green leaves and flat five-petaled flowers, often grown in gardens as ground cover.
Grammar: Countable: one vinca, two vincas. Also used as an uncountable mass noun for the plant material: plant vinca along the wall.
Patterns
- plant vinca
- vinca grows
- a bed of vinca
She planted vinca along the edge of the path because it spreads quickly and needs little sun.
The vinca in our garden has blue flowers every spring.
Vinca is often used as ground cover under trees where grass will not grow.
noununcountablemedicalchemistry
A chemical substance from the Madagascar periwinkle, used in some cancer medicines.
Grammar: Uncountable when referring to the drug substance: vinca alkaloids are a class of chemotherapy drugs.
Patterns
- vinca alkaloids
- vinca-based drugs
Vinca alkaloids are used in chemotherapy to stop cancer cells from dividing.
The doctor explained that the treatment contained a vinca compound.
Word forms
| plural | vincas |
|---|
Common combinations
- vinca minor
- Vinca minor is a common evergreen ground cover in European gardens.
- vinca major
- Vinca major has larger leaves and is more aggressive than vinca minor.
- vinca vine
- The vinca vine climbed over the low wall.
- vinca flower
- Each vinca flower has five flat petals.
Synonyms and how they differ
- periwinkle
- The everyday name for the same garden plant; vinca is the scientific and more technical term.
Commonly confused: vinca or vina?
vinca vs vina
A vina is a stringed musical instrument from India, not a plant.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'vinca' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Vinca is a plant, so it grows and has flowers. The other options confuse it with a musical instrument, a food, or a piece of jewelry.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vinca”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.