a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
"She spent her weekend tending to the flower in the garden, hoping it would bloom beautifully by summer."
A colorful, conspicuous structure associated with angiosperms, frequently scented and attracting various insects, and which may or may not be used for sexual reproduction.
"The ancient poet described the river as a flowing flower of water winding through the valley."
Something that flows, such as a river.
In plain English: A flower is the colorful part of a plant that grows on a stem and often blooms to make seeds.
"She planted a red flower in the garden."
Usage: Use "flower" to refer to the colorful reproductive part of a plant or a metaphorical peak of development. Do not use it to describe something that flows like a river, which is the meaning of the word "flow."
To put forth blooms.
"The cherry trees began to flower last week, filling the park with a sea of pink blossoms."
In plain English: To flower means to start blooming and producing flowers.
"The gardener decided to let the roses flower in their own time without any extra fertilizer."
Usage: Use the verb flower to describe when a plant produces blossoms, such as saying that roses will flower in spring. Do not use it to mean becoming beautiful or blooming in character, which requires different phrasing.
A surname.
"My neighbor, who is a florist by trade, introduced me to her brother, whose family name is Flower."
The word "flower" comes from the Latin flōs, meaning "bloom," which entered English through Middle English as flour. It shares a common ancestor with words like "blossom," though it eventually replaced the native Old English term blostma in common usage.