noun (plural ivies)
1A woody evergreen Eurasian climbing plant, typically having shiny, dark green five-pointed leaves.
- Genus Hedera, family Araliaceae: several species, in particular the common English ivy (H. helix), which is often seen climbing on tree trunks and walls
- Standards of plants not requiring dormant cycles, such as bougainvillea, hibiscus, ivies or geraniums, have a simple winter culture.
- Spider plants and ivies are ideal for desks, and a large-leaved Ficus lyrata or Phoenix roebelinii will cheer up a bare corner.
- Containers can be given a new lease of life by replacing these plants with autumn and winter specimens such as pansies, winter-flowering heathers, hardy cyclamen and evergreen ivies.
1.1Used in names of climbing plants similar to ivy, e.g., poison ivy, Boston ivy.
- I don't much like poison ivy but that doesn't mean I don't like ivy, or plants.
- Boston Ivy can easily climb tree bark, wooden fences, concrete masonry, and brick or stone walls.
- Boston Ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata is a deciduous vine with tendrils. Boston Ivy has glossy dark green leaves that turn bright red in the fall.
2An Ivy League university: many of the Ivies had been founded for the purpose of training students as ministers
More example sentences
- He was smart enough to be recruited by the Ivies yet never finished his degree at Maryland.
- One thing I learned at Yale is how different the Ivies are.
- A series of culture clashes underlies this case: The Army versus the Ivies; brawn versus brain; raw politics versus political correctness.
2.1A prestigious college or university of a specified region or type: Duke is considered one of the “Southern Ivies” one would think that seats at these public Ivies would be reserved for graduates of that state’s high schools
More example sentences
- At one time, getting into these schools, even the Baby Ivies, wasn't hard.
- It is what Victoria Goldman, co-author of The Manhattan Family Guide to Private Schools, calls the Baby Ivies that are the million-dollar prize of this Survivor game.
- That is particularly true at Ivy League universities and elite liberal arts colleges, but it also applies to "public Ivies" like the University of Michigan and many other institutions.
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