1. Any of several woody, climbing or trailing evergreen plants of the genus Hedera native to the Old World, especially H. helix, having palmately lobed leaves, root-bearing young stems, and small green flowers grouped in umbels.
2. Ivy Informal. A university in the Ivy League. Often used in the plural: Cornell is one of the Ivies.

[Middle English ivi, from Old English īfig.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.