any of various composite plants of the genus Helianthus, as H. annuus, having showy, yellow-rayed flower heads often 12 inches (30 cm) wide, and edible seeds that yield an oil with a wide variety of uses: the state flower of Kansas.
2.
Also called aster. Furniture. a conventionalized flower motif carved in the center panels of a Connecticut chest.
Origin
1555-65; translation of Latinflōs sōlis flower of the sun
Examples from the web for sunflower
Today, we'll run off for some morning glory and sunflower seeds.
Season with the sunflower oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Still there's something comfortable and soothing in the sight of a sunflower or a blossoming dogwood.
About the size and shape of a sunflower nutmeat, an elm leaf beetle is a feeble creature in my experience, breaking at any touch.
Resembling a sunflower, a sea anemone appears deceptively benign.
They had trained macaws sitting pretty for sunflower seeds.
Mine is the wild-type sunflower, native to the plains.
Painters and performance artists crowd every table, cracking sunflower seeds and chatting till the wee hours.
sunflower oil is preferred in many high-quality dining establishments for its neutral taste.
sunflower sea stars are large predators of the sea floor, reaching arm spans of up to three feet.
British Dictionary definitions for sunflower
sunflower
/ˈsʌnˌflaʊə/
noun
1.
any of several American plants of the genus Helianthus, esp H. annuus, having very tall thick stems, large flower heads with yellow rays, and seeds used as food, esp for poultry: family Asteraceae (composites) See also Jerusalem artichoke
2.
sunflower seed oil, the oil extracted from sunflower seeds, used as a salad oil, in the manufacture of margarine, etc
Word Origin and History for sunflower
n.
1560s, "heliotrope;" in reference to the helianthus (introduced to Europe 1510 from America by the Spaniards) it is attested from 1590s. From sun (n.) + flower (n.).