bonsai

UK: /ˈbɒnsaɪ/

US: /bɑnˈsaɪ, ˈbɑnsaɪ/

US: (bon sī′, -zī′, bōn-, bon′sī, -zī, bōn′-)

Inflections of 'bonsai' (n): npl: bonsai

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

bon•sai /bɑnˈsaɪ, ˈbɑnsaɪ/   n., pl. -sai. 

1. Botany a tree or shrub made very small by cutting back the roots and pinching the branches:
   [countable] a number of bonsai in the botanical gardens.
2. Botany, Fine Art the art of growing such a plant:
   [uncountable] courses in bonsai.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bon•sai  (bon sī′, -zī′, bōn-, bon′sī, -zī, bōn′-), n., pl. -sai. 

1. Botany a tree or shrub that has been dwarfed, as by pruning the roots and pinching, and is grown in a pot or other container and trained to produce a desired shape or effect.
2. Botany, Fine Art the art or hobby of developing and growing such a plant or plants.

• Middle Chinese, equivalent. to Chinese pén tray + zāi plant, shoot
• Japanese bon-sai tray planting
• 1945–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bonsai / ˈbɒnsaɪ/ noun ( -sai)

1. the art of growing dwarfed ornamental varieties of trees or shrubs in small shallow pots or trays by selective pruning, etc
2. a tree or shrub grown by this method

Etymology: 20th Century: Japanese: plant grown in a pot, from bon basin, bowl + sai to plant