DECIDUOUS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does deciduous mean? 

• DECIDUOUS (adjective)
  The adjective DECIDUOUS has 2 senses:

1. (of plants and shrubs) shedding foliage at the end of the growing season

2. (of teeth, antlers, etc.) being shed at the end of a period of growth

  Familiarity information: DECIDUOUS used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DECIDUOUS (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(of plants and shrubs) shedding foliage at the end of the growing season

Similar:

broad-leafed; broad-leaved; broadleaf (having relatively broad rather than needlelike or scalelike leaves)

Domain category:

flora; plant; plant life ((botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)

Antonym:

evergreen ((of plants and shrubs) bearing foliage throughout the year)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(of teeth, antlers, etc.) being shed at the end of a period of growth

Context example:

deciduous teeth

Similar:

caducous; shed (shed at an early stage of development)

 Context examples 

Any of the 32 teeth that replace the deciduous teeth of early childhood.

(Permanent Tooth, NCI Thesaurus)

The signs and symptoms vary significantly and include death in utero, failure to thrive, premature loss of deciduous teeth, early loss of the adult dentition, hypercalcemia, osteomalacia, skeletal defects, renal stones, and movement disorders.

(Hypophosphatasia, NCI Thesaurus)

To conduct the research, containers were filled with varying ratios of rocks and organic material - consisting of deciduous and coniferous litter from nearby forests - and submerged in the shallow waters of the two lakes.

(Climate change could double greenhouse gas emissions from freshwater ecosystems, University of Cambridge)