Definition of "cauliflower"

cauliflower

/ˈkɒl.i.flaʊ.ə/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural cauliflowers
1. Brassica oleracea var. botrytis, an annual variety of cabbage, of which the cluster of young flower stalks and buds is eaten as a vegetable.
  Quotations
  ASPARAGUS, cauliflowers, imperial Sileſia, royal and cabbage lettuces, burnet, purſlain, cucumbers, naſturtian flowers, peaſe and beans ſown in October, artichokes, ſcarlet ſtrawberries, and kidney beans.
  1767, A Lady [Hannah Glasse], The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Eaſy […] ‎, page 326
2. The edible head or curd of a cauliflower plant.
3. The swelling of a cauliflower ear.
  Quotations
  His ears were small (fortunately so, given his dramatic hairstyle) and bore no traditional cauliflowers.
  2018, John Harding, The Whitechapel Whirlwind: The Jack Kid Berg Story
verb
third-person singular simple present cauliflowers, present participle cauliflowering, simple past and past participle cauliflowered
1. (transitive, intransitive) To (cause to) swell up like a cauliflower ear.
  Quotations
  I noticed his right ear was badly cauliflowered and that explained a number of things. It wasn't a new job of cauliflowering.
  1947, Elliott Chaze, The Stainless Steel Kimono, page 49
  Returning to your first point, the cauliflowering of magnesite bricks — we presume that this is due to your using high concentrations of oxygen for blowing the furnace, giving high checker-temperatures.
  1960, Transactions of the British Ceramic Society, page 281
  The soft steel of the back edge by now has cauliflowered over from hammering on it.
  1974, Alexander G. Weygers, The Modern Blacksmith, page 39

Definition of "cauliflower"

cauliflower

noun

Quotations

Quotations

verb

Quotations