1. A flower or cluster of flowers.
2. The condition or time of flowering: peach trees in blossom.
3. A period or condition of maximum development. See synonyms at bloom¹.

1. To come into flower; bloom.
2. To develop; flourish: The child blossomed into a beauty.

[Middle English, from Old English blōstm.]

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.