nectar
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the sweet liquid that flowers produce to attract bees, butterflies, and birds.
n.a sugary fluid secreted by plants, especially within flowers to encourage pollination by insects or birds.
Simple“The bees spent the whole afternoon collecting nectar from the bright red flowers.”
In context“Pollinators are drawn to the floral display not just by colour, but by the high sugar content of the nectar hidden deep within the corolla.”
UsageUncountable when referring to the substance generally; countable when referring to specific types.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
n.the special drink of the gods in ancient Greek and Roman stories.
n.the drink of the gods in classical mythology, often associated with ambrosia and said to confer immortality.
Simple“In the old legends, the gods sat on the mountain drinking nectar.”
In context“Classical poets often depicted the Olympian deities feasting upon ambrosia and sipping nectar from golden chalices.”
Synonymsambrosia - 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to drink or eat the sweet liquid from flowers.
v.to consume or forage for nectar; used primarily in biological descriptions of insect or bird behaviour.
Simple“We watched the hummingbirds nectar at the feeder for several minutes.”
In context“The study observed how various butterfly species would nectar on native wildflowers compared to introduced garden varieties.”
UsageIntransitive verb; often followed by the preposition 'on'.
“Bees obtain nearly all of their food from flower nectar and pollen.”
“Dandelions for example, are a massively important nectar source for bees , but also a plant commonly controlled with herbicides.”
From Latin nectar, from Ancient Greek νέκταρ (néktar, “nourishment of the gods”), from Proto-Indo-European neḱ- (“perish, disappear”) + -tr̥h₂ (“overcoming”), from *terh₂- (“to overcome, pass through, cross over”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.