poppy

Syllables: pop·pyUK/ˈpɒpi//ˈpɑpi/

poppy noun: any plant of the genus Papaver or the family Papaveraceae, with crumpled, often red, petals and a milky juice having narcotic properties; especially a common poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) which has orange-red flowers; the flower of such a plant.

Image: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

poppy (countable and uncountable, plural poppies)

Any plant of the genus Papaver or the family Papaveraceae, with crumpled, often red, petals and a milky juice having narcotic properties; especially a common poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) which has orange-red flowers; the flower of such a plant.
- In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row, / That mark our place; […] / If ye break faith with us who die / We shall not sleep, though poppies grow / In Flanders fields.1915 May 3 (date composed), John McCrae, “In Flanders Fields”, in Punch, or The London Charivari, London: Published at the office, 85, Fleet Street, published 8 December 1915, →OCLC; republished in...
- We cherish, too, the poppy red / That grows on fields where valor led; / It seems to signal to the skies / That blood of heroes never dies, / […] / And now the torch and poppy red / We wear in honor of our dead. / Fear not that ye have died for naught; / We've learned the lesson that ye taught / In...1918 November 9, Moina Michael, We Shall Keep the Faith; quoted in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the First Session of the Sixty-ninth Congress of the United States of America...
A bright red colour tinted with orange, like that of the common poppy flower.
(Australia, Canada, UK) A simple artificial poppy flower worn in a buttonhole or displayed in other contexts to remember those who died in the two World Wars and other armed conflicts, especially around Remembrance Day/Remembrance Sunday.
- Troops from the garrison town formed a guard of honour for both sets of players, who emerged for the national anthem with poppies proudly stitched into their tracksuit jackets.2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England under 21 5 Iceland under 21 0: Match report”, in Tony Gallagher, editor, The Daily Telegraph, London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...

Adjective (1)

poppy (not comparable)

Of a bright red colour tinted with orange, like that of the common poppy flower (Papaver rhoeas).

Adjective (2)

poppy (comparative poppier or more poppy, superlative poppiest or most poppy)

(informal) Having a popping or bursting sound.
(informal) Of a beverage: resembling soda pop; effervescent, fizzy.
(informal) Of eyes: protruding, sticking out.

Synonyms:

bulging

Adjective (3)

poppy (comparative poppier or more poppy, superlative poppiest or most poppy)

(dated, informal) Popular.
(informal) Typical of, or in the style of, pop music.
- I thought Sparks were great; they were very poppy for Island Records. They were considered an oddity but you have to remember that at the time Roxy Music, now everyone's seminal band, were seen as very poppy.2010, Daryl Easlea, “Island Life”, in Talent is an Asset: The Story of Sparks, London; New York, N.Y.: Omnibus Press, →ISBN

Noun (2)

poppy (plural poppies)

(endearing, informal) One's father or grandfather, or a male authority figure having similar standing.

Synonyms:

pappy, pop, poppa, pops, pop-pop

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Poppy

Poppy

(UK) A female given name from English, a flower name used since the end of the 19th century.
- "It is a very pretty name, Mma. I should like to be called Poppy."
- The compliment drew a smile. "I used to be very embarrassed about it," said Poppy. "I used to try to hide my name from people. I thought it was a very silly name."
- Mma Ramotswe shook her head. There was nothing embarrassing about the name Poppy, but there was no telling what names people would find embarrassing.2006, Alexander McCall Smith, Blue Shoes and Happiness, →ISBN

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Poppy

Poppy

(alternative, term-of-address) Alternative form of poppy (“father, grandfather, or other male authority figure of a similar standing”).
- My grandfather, whom we all call "Poppy", loves children and enjoys imparting his knowledge of aspects to them.
  ...
  Cell phones were not invented at the time, however, so I could not contact Poppy to help me end the hiccups.2008 April 29, Steven Keslowitz, From Poland to Brooklyn, page 120
(informal) Former U.S. president George H. W. Bush

poppy meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

poppy in Hindi

plant of the genus Papaver: पोस्त post, पॉपी pŏpī

poppy in Tamil

பாப்பி

poppy in Marathi

खसखस

poppy in Urdu

plant of the genus Papaver: پوست post, پاپی pāpī

More languagesFewer languages

poppy in Bengali: পপি
poppy in Malayalam: പോപ്പി
poppy in Kannada: ಗಸಗಸೆ, ಪಾಪ್ಪಿ, ಗಸಗಸೆಯ
poppy in Punjabi: ਪੋਪੀ
poppy in Gujarati: પોસ pos
poppy in Odia: ପପି, ପୋପି
poppy in Nepali: पोपी
poppy in Arabic: خشخاش
poppy in Malay: bunga madat
poppy in Indonesian: apiun
poppy in Persian: شقایق šaqâyeq, آذرگون âzargun
poppy in Thai: ป๊อปปี้

Examples of poppy in a sentence

These poppies have not seeded themselves yet.
Would you like a poppy bagel or a plain bagel?
Meals conclude with a dessert such as sernik (cheesecake), makowiec (poppy seed pastry), or napoleonka (cream pie).

All 40 example sentences with poppy

Synonyms of poppy

All synonyms of poppy

Forms of poppy

Noun
plural	poppies
alternative form	poppie
Adjective
comparative	poppier
comparative	more poppy
superlative	poppiest
superlative	most poppy

Plural of poppy: poppies

Origin of poppy

PIE word *péh₂wr̥ The noun is derived from Late Middle English poppy, Middle English popy, popi, popie (“plant of the genus Papaver; poppy seeds used as a spice”) [and other forms], from Old English popiġ (“poppy”), Early Old English popeġ, popaeġ, popæġ, popei [and other forms], perhaps from Late Latin *papavum, popauer, from Latin papāver (“poppy”), which may be from a reduplication of Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ (“bonfire”). Doublet of papaver. Sense 3 (“artificial poppy flower to remember those who died in the two World Wars and other armed conflicts”) reflects the efforts of American professor and humanitarian Moina Michael (1869–1944) to popularize the wearing of artificial poppies in remembrance of those who fought and died in World War I; she was inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields” (1915) by the Canadian poet and soldier John McCrae (1872–1918): see the quotation. The adjective is derived from the noun.

From pop (“loud, sharp sound; fizzy drink; to make or burst with a loud, sharp sound; to stand out”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’).

From pop(ular) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’).

Words formed from poppy

Phrases with poppy

2 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with poppy

6 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about poppy

What does poppy mean?: Poppy means any plant of the genus Papaver or the family Papaveraceae, with crumpled, often red, petals and a milky juice having narcotic properties; especially a common poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) which has orange-red flowers; the flower of such a plant.
What is poppy in Hindi?: Poppy in Hindi is पोस्त (post), पॉपी (pŏpī). See Poppy meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is poppy?: Poppy can be a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce poppy?: Poppy is pronounced /ˈpɒpi/ (UK).
What is the plural of poppy?: The plural of poppy is poppies.

Words near poppy in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-poppy.ogg.

Cite this entry: “poppy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/poppy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.