bloom

UK: /ˈbluːm/ US: /blum/ ,(blo̅o̅m)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bloom¹ /blum/   n. 

1. Botany [countable] the flower of a plant.
2. the state of flowering:
   [uncountable] lilacs in bloom.
3. [uncountable] the time of greatest beauty, life, strength, or freshness:
   the bloom of youth.
4. a glow that signals or indicates such a state:
   [countable] a bloom of health on her face.

v. [no object]

5. Botany to produce or yield flowers or blossoms:
   The roses bloom every few days.
6. to grow well or thrive;
   flourish;
   blossom:
   His talent for languages bloomed.
   [~ + into + object]
   bloomed into a promising trombone player in high school.
7. to be in or achieve a state of beauty and vigor:
   began to bloom with good health.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bloom¹  (blo̅o̅m), n. 

1. Botany the flower of a plant.
2. flowers collectively:
   the bloom of the cherry tree.
3. state of having the buds opened:
   The gardens are all in bloom.
4. a flourishing, healthy condition;
   the time or period of greatest beauty, artistry, etc.:
   the bloom of youth; the bloom of Romanticism.
5. a glow or flush on the cheek indicative of youth and health:
   a serious illness that destroyed her bloom.
6. the glossy, healthy appearance of the coat of an animal.
7. Food a moist, lustrous appearance indicating freshness in fish.
8. Food redness or a fresh appearance on the surface of meat.
9. Botany a whitish powdery deposit or coating, as on the surface of certain fruits and leaves:
   the bloom of the grape.
10. any similar surface coating or appearance:
    the bloom of newly minted coins.
11. Mineralogy any of certain minerals occurring as powdery coatings on rocks or other minerals.
12. Furniture Also called chill. a clouded or dull area on a varnished or lacquered surface.
13. Microbiology the sudden development of conspicuous masses of organisms, as algae on the surface of a lake.
14. Radio and Television [Television.] image spread produced by excessive exposure of highlights in a television image.
15. Idioms take the bloom off, to remove the enjoyment or ultimate satisfaction from;
    dampen the enthusiasm over:
    The coach's illness took the bloom off the team's victory.
16. Idioms the bloom is off (the rose), the excitement, enjoyment, interest, etc., has ended or been dampened.

v.i. 

17. Botany to produce or yield blossoms.
18. to flourish or thrive:
    a recurrent fad that blooms from time to time.
19. to be in or achieve a state of healthful beauty and vigor:
    a sickly child who suddenly bloomed; a small talent that somehow bloomed into major artistry.
20. to glow with warmth or with a warm color.

v.t. 

21. Botany to cause to yield blossoms.
22. to make bloom or cause to flourish:
    a happiness that blooms the cheek.
23. to invest with luster or beauty:
    an industry that blooms one's talents.
24. to cause a cloudy area on (something shiny);
    dampen;
    chill:
    Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.
25. Optics to coat (a lens) with an antireflection material.

• Old Norse blōm, blōmi; cognate with Gothic blōma lily, German Blume flower; akin to blow³; (verb, verbal) Middle English blomen, derivative of the noun, nominal
• (noun, nominal) Middle English blom, blome 1150–1200

bloom′less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. blossom.
• 3. efflorescence.
• 4. freshness, glow, flush; vigor, prime.
• 16, 17. effloresce.

bloom²  (blo̅o̅m), [Metalworking.]
n. 

1. Metallurgy a piece of steel, square or slightly oblong in section, reduced from an ingot to dimensions suitable for further rolling.
2. Metallurgy a large lump of iron and slag, of pasty consistency when hot, produced in a puddling furnace or bloomery and hammered into wrought iron.

v.t. 

3. Metallurgy to make (an ingot) into a bloom.

• bef. 1000; representing Anglo-Latin, Anglo-French blomes (plural), Old English blōma mass of iron; perh. akin to bloom¹

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bloom / bluːm/ noun

1. a blossom on a flowering plant; a flower
2. the state, time, or period when flowers open (esp in the phrases in bloom, in full bloom)
3. open flowers collectively
4. a healthy, vigorous, or flourishing condition; prime (esp in the phrase the bloom of youth)
5. youthful or healthy rosiness in the cheeks or face; glow
6. a fine whitish coating on the surface of fruits, leaves, etc, consisting of minute grains of a waxy substance
7. any coating similar in appearance, such as that on new coins
8. a visible increase in the algal constituent of plankton, which may be seasonal or due to excessive organic pollution
9. Also called: chill a dull area formed on the surface of gloss paint, lacquer, or varnish

verb (mainly intr)

1. (of flowers) to open; come into flower
2. to bear flowers; blossom
3. to flourish or grow
4. to be in a healthy, glowing, or flourishing condition

Etymology: 13th Century: of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse blōm flower, Old High German bluomo, Middle Dutch bloeme; see blow³

bloom / bluːm/ noun

1. a rectangular mass of metal obtained by rolling or forging a cast ingot
   See also billet12

Etymology: Old English blōma lump of metal