petal

noun

pet·​al ˈpe-tᵊl 

: one of the modified often brightly colored leaves of the corolla of a flower see flower illustration

petaled adjective

or petalled

ˈpe-tᵊld 

petallike

ˈpe-tᵊl-ˌ(l)īk 

adjective

Examples of petal in a Sentence

flowers with pink and white petals

Recent Examples on the Web

After nearly five years of dating, Martínez proposed to Gandolfo by getting down on one knee in front of a massive rose heart arch and hundreds of roses and rose petals in February 2023. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026

At the Cannes Film Festival in May, the model Toni Garrn made a striking appearance in a blue-black bustier dress embroidered with small petals. — Amy Verner, Vogue, 6 July 2026

Flower petals are thrown on the coffins of Khamenei and his family members in Tehran on Monday. — Marc Smith, NBC news, 6 July 2026

The city was full of people doing the same thing, with hundreds of little factories stitching and pressing petals in the buildings above the button guys and the zipper guys and the thread guys. — Jeanne Malle, Air Mail, 4 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

New Latin petalum, from Greek petalon; akin to Greek petannynai to spread out — more at fathom

First Known Use

1712, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing petal

• banner petal
• standard petal

Rhymes for petal

• betel
• cetyl
• kettle
• metal
• mettle
• nettle
• setal
• settle
• acetyl
• bimetal
• gunmetal
• nonmetal

Kids Definition

petal

noun

pet·​al ˈpet-ᵊl 

: one of the often brightly colored modified leaves that make up the corolla of a flower

petaled adjective

or petalled

-ᵊld 

petallike

-ᵊl-ˌ(l)īk 

adjective