poppy seed

noun

: the seed of a poppy used chiefly as a topping or flavoring for baked goods

Examples of poppy seed in a Sentence

Sprinkle poppy seeds on the bread before baking.

Recent Examples on the Web

For early summer, there are beets with brown butter and poppy seeds, to dye gemelli a vibrant magenta; as fall approaches, green lentil ragù with roasted cherry tomatoes, to get caught in the crooks of cascatelli. —Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2025

Max Büsser, founder of the cult brand MB&F, gave 60 Minutes Correspondent Jon Wertheim an up-close look at some components the size of poppy seeds in his mechanical watches. —Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025

Thousands of these poppy seed-sized particles are combined into compact fuel forms used in advanced reactors like the one being developed under Project Pele by the Department of War’s Strategic Capabilities Office. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 3 Dec. 2025

Combine butter, onion and poppy seeds in bowl. —Susan Selasky, Freep.com, 29 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for poppy seed

• aniseed
• centipede
• cottonseed
• disagreed
• ganymede
• guaranteed
• intercede
• overspeed
• pedigreed
• refereed
• supercede
• supersede