monocot

noun

mono·​cot ˈmä-nə-ˌkät 

plural monocots

: a chiefly herbaceous angiospermous plant (such as a grass, lily, or palm) having an embryo with a single cotyledon, usually parallel-veined leaves, and floral organs arranged in multiples of three : monocotyledon

Monocots account for a quarter of all flowering plants.

—Caroline Brogan

Scientists have long had trouble placing monocots, whose seeds contain just one embryonic leaf, on the plant family tree.

—Elizabeth Pennisi

—often used before another noun

monocot plants

… major monocot crops such as barley, sorghum, maize, rice, wheat, and soybean.

—Persistence Market Research

compare dicot

Examples of monocot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Members of the genus are mycoheterotrophic monocot plants that depend on fungi for nutrition and the trees that sustain those fungi. —Melissa Breyer, Treehugger, 27 Feb. 2023

The monocots require little attention, and deer rarely even attempt to consume the rough leaves. —cleveland, 4 June 2020

Some people have observed injury to monocots like iris and daylilies, while others have not. —Melinda Myers, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

monocot

noun

mono·​cot ˈmän-ə-ˌkät 

: monocotyledon

monocot adjective