: any of a genus (Tulipa) of Eurasian bulbous herbs of the lily family that have linear or broadly lanceolate leaves and are widely grown for their showy flowers
also
: the flower or bulb of a tulip
Examples of tulip in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Carnations and tulips also festoon the bright areas.
—
Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2025
Though people typically think of pastel roses and hydrangeas for weddings, Ms. Jalal sees the rise of bolder colors and more distinctive flowers, like anthurium and fringed tulips.
—Sadiba Hasan, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
They can be planted at the same time as tulips or daffodils.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Jan. 2025
Several botanic gardens, such as South Coast Botanic Gardens in Rolling Hills Estates and the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, have tulip and bulb gardens — the Huntington plants them in its famous rose garden to create filler color after the roses are pruned.
—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2025
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Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2025
Though people typically think of pastel roses and hydrangeas for weddings, Ms. Jalal sees the rise of bolder colors and more distinctive flowers, like anthurium and fringed tulips.
—Sadiba Hasan, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
They can be planted at the same time as tulips or daffodils.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Jan. 2025
Several botanic gardens, such as South Coast Botanic Gardens in Rolling Hills Estates and the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, have tulip and bulb gardens — the Huntington plants them in its famous rose garden to create filler color after the roses are pruned.
—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for tulip
Dictionary Entries Near tulip
Cite this Entry
“Tulip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tulip. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tulip
noun
tu·lip
ˈt(y)ü-ləp 
: any of a genus of Eurasian herbs that grow from bulbs, have large lance-shaped leaves, are related to the lilies, and are widely grown for their showy cup-shaped flowers
also
: the flower or bulb of a tulip
Etymology
from scientific Latin tulipa "the tulip," from Turkish tülbent "tulip," literally "turban"
Word Origin
We often think of the tulip as a Dutch flower. The Dutch certainly do grow many tulips, but they first got the plant from Turkey. The Turkish word for the tulip was tülbent, meaning literally "turban." Perhaps it was the flower's shape that reminded the Turks of a turban. Or perhaps it was the bright colors and velvety petals. In any case, scientists picking a universal word for the flower chose the scientific Latin tulipa, taken from the Turkish word. The word came into English from the scientific Latin and was spelled tulip.
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