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babies'-breath

babies'-breath

2 6.9
A tall plant with many small white or pink flowers used in flower arrangements
  • noun
  • /ˈbeɪbiz brɛθ/
translation icon : flor de bebé
  • The florist suggested adding some baby's breath to the arrangement for a delicate touch.
  • a sprig of babies'-breath
  • roses and babies'-breath
  • pink babies'-breath

Examples

  • The day the shortstop died, Katie Mays was in the kitchen, arranging a sprig of baby's breath, fresh from the garden, onto her father's breakfast tray.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The early bulbs were all finished, and now irises were making a show, and baby's breath had come into bloom, making the irises appear to rise from white clouds.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Carmen has chosen: pink and white rosebuds with baby's breath.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Nude as a marble statue, she walks with roses and baby's breath in her hands.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I got to carry a bouquet of pink rosebuds and baby's breath.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Orvil smelled the new, green grass, a smell as sweet as a baby's breath, and felt his heart begin to ache.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • It was a lovely thing of pink, lavender, and white flowers, frothed in baby's breath.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • She clenched her fists, and she held a bouquet of pink roses and baby's breath.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • She plucked a weed from a large terra-cotta pot full of begonias, baby's breath, and copper-yellow marigolds.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The white gazebo backdrop looks like the plastic top of a wedding cake, with greenery and baby's breath poked into its latticework like that phony, inedible icing.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

Gypsophila paniculata
vsbabies'-breath
  • Specialized
9.9

A tall plant with many small white or pink flowers used in flower arrangements

is the general common term rather than only the scientific species
infant's-breath
vsbabies'-breath
8.3

A small plant with many tiny white flowers used in flower arrangements

is the broader cultivated term not stressing region or naturalization
baby's breath
vsbabies'-breath
4.8

A tall plant with thin stems and many small white or pink flowers used in bouquets

emphasizes the scientific genus rather than the casual garden name
Gypsophila
vsbabies'-breath
  • Specialized
9.9

A small garden plant with many tiny white or pink flowers

is narrower pointing to a particular tall species used in arrangements

Surface Forms

Morphology

babies'-breath = baby + breath (opaque) = baby + breath

Although built from 'baby' + 'breath', the compound denotes a particular flowering plant and the compositional meaning does not straightforwardly indicate 'a plant' to learners.

Etymology

Babies'-breath is a picture name: the many tiny, cloud-like flowers look like a baby's light 'breath' or soft puffs. That's why this plant is used to give a delicate touch in bouquets.