phlox

noun

ˈfläks 

plural phlox or phloxes

: any of a genus (Phlox of the family Polemoniaceae, the phlox family) of American annual or perennial herbs that have usually pink, purplish, white, or variegated flowers, a salverform corolla with the stamens on its tube, and a 3-valved capsular fruit

Illustration of phlox

Examples of phlox in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Look beyond colorful perennial plants such as coneflower, phlox and coreopsis to include shrubs such as hydrangea and serviceberry. —Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2025

Pinching off dead blooms encourages both tall and creeping phlox to continue to bloom and makes the plant or ground cover look neat. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 20 Aug. 2025

Bushy, clump-forming perennials such as garden phlox and Shasta daisy increase their spread from year to year. —Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin Phlox, a genus name, going back to Latin phlog-, phlox "a flame-colored flower," borrowed from Greek phlóx, genitive phlogós "flame, flash (of lightning), blaze, radiance, inflammation, a flame-colored flower," o-grade derivative from the stem of phlégein "to burn up, blaze, gleam" — more at phlegm

Note: The genus name Phlox was introduced by linnaeus (Species plantarum, 1753), who adapted it in Hortus Cliffortianus (Amsterdam, 1737, p. 63) from Theophrastus's name for a plant, identified as the wallflower (Erysimum cheiri) by Liddell and Scott's dictionary and Arthur Hort's translation of Historia plantarum (Theophrastus: Enquiry into Plants, vol. 2 [London/New York, 1916], p. 44).

First Known Use

circa 1706, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for phlox

• balks
• blocks
• blocs
• box
• chalks
• chocks
• clocks
• cocks
• cox
• crocks
• docks
• docs

Kids Definition

phlox

noun

ˈfläks 

plural phlox or phloxes

: any of a genus of American herbs widely grown for their showy clusters of usually white, pink, or purplish flowers