CROTON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does croton mean? 

• CROTON (noun)
  The noun CROTON has 2 senses:

1. grown in many varieties for their brightly colored foliage; widely cultivated as a houseplant

2. tropical Asiatic shrub; source of croton oil

  Familiarity information: CROTON used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CROTON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Grown in many varieties for their brightly colored foliage; widely cultivated as a houseplant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

Codiaeum variegatum; croton

Hypernyms ("croton" is a kind of...):

bush; shrub (a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems)

Holonyms ("croton" is a member of...):

Codiaeum; genus Codiaeum (evergreen tropical trees and shrubs with thick and colorful leathery leaves; Malaya and Pacific islands)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Tropical Asiatic shrub; source of croton oil

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

croton; Croton tiglium

Hypernyms ("croton" is a kind of...):

bush; shrub (a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems)

Meronyms (substance of "croton"):

croton oil (viscid acrid brownish-yellow oil from the seeds of Croton tiglium having a violent cathartic action)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "croton"):

cascarilla; Croton eluteria (West Indian shrub with aromatic bark)

Holonyms ("croton" is a member of...):

genus Croton (tropical shrubs and herbs; source of croton oil)

 Context examples 

Polycyclic compound isolated from croton oil in which two hydroxyl groups on neighboring carbon atoms are esterified to fatty acids.

(Phorbol Ester, NCI Thesaurus)

Croton oil is a possible human carcinogen.

(Croton Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

Croton oil was used as a drastic purgative agent, but is now mostly used as a standard irritant in pharmacological research.

(Croton Oil, NCI Thesaurus)