poppy Hear it!

poppy Definition

poppy (päpē)

noun pl. -·pies

  1. any of a genus (Papaver) of annual and perennial plants of the poppy family, having a milky juice, showy pink, white, red, orange, purple, or yellow flowers, and capsules containing many small seeds, including the opium poppy
  2. the flower of any of these plants
  3. any of a number of plants of the poppy family resembling the poppy
  4. an extract, as opium, made from poppy juice
  5. poppy red

Etymology: ME popi < OE popæg < L papaver

adjective

designating a family (Papaveraceae, order Papaverales) of widely distributed, dicotyledonous plants, including the bloodroot and celandine

poppy Synonyms

poppy

n.

bloom, blossom, herb; see drug 2, flower 1, 2.

Varieties of poppies include: opium, corn, Iceland, black, California, field, garden, yellow-horned, long-headed, Mexican, Oriental, prickly, red, Shirley, seaside, dwarf.

poppy Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • wear: Wearing a poppy is the only way we have of doing that.
  • grow: The Company grew the poppies in Bengal, refining them there to suit Chinese tastes.
  • sell: Each year, volunteers will sell these poppies in the street all over Britain.
  • buy: Posted by Blue Witch on 12 November, 2004 at 12:57 PM I don't buy a poppy either.

Preposition: as

symbol: Poppy As a symbol of fantastic extravagance ( scarlet ), consolation ( red ).

Adjective modifier

  • scarlet: The planting is white throughout, with a scattering of scarlet poppies.
  • oriental: Taking root cuttings It is very easy to take root cuttings of oriental poppies.
  • perennial: In summer, it has pretty bright yellow flowers. £ 3.75 ( Papaver orientalis ) Oriental Poppy A hardy perennial poppy.
  • tall: Tommy Rossiter and Brian Williams were both victims of the ' tall poppy ' syndrome we have here in local politics.
  • red: Instead of a red poppy these have a small black piece of coal on them.
  • Welsh: The Welsh poppies are continuing to produce the odd flower per plant.

Modifies a noun

  • cultivation: The incentives offered to move out of poppy cultivation simply aren't enough.
  • wreath: His grave bears poppy wreaths placed there by the British Legion.
  • eradication: Poppy eradication has not exactly been a great success.
  • seed: How about a few poppy seeds or even a little grated orange rind?
  • petal: Thousands of poppy petals were scattered into a crater at the site.
  • growing: The only way for Afghan farmers to make money would be through poppy growing.

Modifying Another Word

almost: I missed the title of the next song, a light and almost poppy song that went down well with the audience.

Noun used with modifier

  • opium: Opium is the dried milk of the opium poppy.
  • peace: Four hundred white peace poppies were planted on the ( off-limits ) Castle Mound, along with two Palestinian flags.

Browse dictionary entries near poppy

  1. popple
  2. popping plug
  3. popping crease
  4. poppied
  5. poppet
  6. popper
  7. poppadom
  8. popover
  9. Popocatépetl
  10. popliteal
  1. poppy red
  2. poppy seed
  3. poppycock
  4. poppyhead
  5. pops
  6. Popsicle
  7. populace
  8. popular
  9. popular etymology
  10. popular front