honeysuckle

IPA/ˈhʌnisʌkl/
KK[hˈʌnisˌʌkəl]IPA/ˈhʌnisʌkl/

honeysuckle — noun

  • honeysucklesingular
  • honeysucklesplural

1. A climbing plant that produces sweet-smelling flowers, which are often white, ye

1.nounB1
Definition

A climbing plant that produces sweet-smelling flowers, which are often white, yellow, or pink in colour. The flowers contain a tiny drop of nectar that can be sucked out.

Example

Mei-Lin planted a <hw>honeysuckle</hw> vine along the garden fence last spring.

collocation: honeysuckle vine

The sweet smell of <hw>honeysuckle</hw> filled the evening air as Boris walked home from work.

collocation: smell of honeysuckle

Common collocations
  • honeysuckle vine
  • honeysuckle hedge
  • honeysuckle scent
  • honeysuckle flower
  • honeysuckle bush
Synonyms
  • woodbine

    A traditional British name for wild honeysuckle, especially the common species Lonicera periclymenum. Less common in everyday use.

Usage Note

Honeysuckle is usually uncountable when referring to the plant in general ('a patch of honeysuckle'), but it can be countable when talking about individual plants or species ('three different honeysuckles in the garden').

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Honeysuckle is the general modern term for climbing plants of the genus Lonicera with fragrant, tubular flowers. Woodbine is an older British term that usually refers to wild honeysuckle found in hedgerows, though the two words are often used interchangeably in the UK. Jasmine is a different plant family (Jasminum) with similarly sweet-smelling flowers, but jasmine blooms are star-shaped and the plant is often grown in pots or as a shrub rather than a vigorous climber. Wisteria is another climbing plant with hanging clusters of flowers, but its blossoms have a milder, less sweet scent and appear earlier in spring. A gardener might say, 'The honeysuckle covers the entire fence in fragrant blooms, while the wisteria only flowers at the top.'

honeysuckle ↗woodbinejasmine ↗wisteria

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a patch of honeysuckle
  • the smell of honeysuckle
  • a honeysuckle in bloom
  • covered in honeysuckle

Prepositions

  • of honeysuckle

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word honeysuckle comes from Old English 'hunigsūce', which combines 'hunig' (honey) and 'sūcan' (to suck). The name refers to the sweet nectar that children and adults can suck from the base of the flower. It entered Middle English as 'honisuccle' before taking its modern form.