Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To collect plants for scientific study.
- intransitive verb To investigate or study plants scientifically.
- intransitive verb To investigate or explore the plant life of (a region).
from The Century Dictionary.
- To examine or seek for plants for the purpose of studying and classifying them, etc.; investigate the vegetable kingdom as a botanist.
- To explore botanically: as, to
botanize a neighborhood. - Also spelled
botanise .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To seek after plants for botanical investigation; to study plants.
- transitive verb To explore for botanical purposes.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To do the work of a
botanist ; as to inventory the plant life in an area.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb collect and study plants
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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As a young professor in Uppsala, Linnaeus led his students on plant-collecting hikes, scattering them into the fields to botanize and summoning them to lunch with a trumpet.
Brotherhood of the Butterfly Net Jennie Erin Smith 2012
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George Crabbe used to go there and botanize, and lick the wounds inflicted by the scornful, bullying fishermen of Aldeburgh, who, having known him as a boy, scrubbing out barrels in the town, despised him, first as a doctor and later as their curate.
Wildwood Roger Deakin 2009
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George Crabbe used to go there and botanize, and lick the wounds inflicted by the scornful, bullying fishermen of Aldeburgh, who, having known him as a boy, scrubbing out barrels in the town, despised him, first as a doctor and later as their curate.
Wildwood Roger Deakin 2009
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About the same time, Mr. Sparrman, who had imprudently gone out alone to botanize, was assaulted by two men, who stripped him of every thing which he had about him, excepting his trowsers, and struck him again and again with his own hanger, though happily without doing him any harm.
Narrative of the Voyages Round The World, Performed by Captain James Cook 2003
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About the same time, Mr. Sparrman, who had imprudently gone out alone to botanize, was assaulted by two men, who stripped him of every thing which he had about him, excepting his trowsers, and struck him again and again with his own hanger, though happily without doing him any harm.
Narrative of the Voyages Round The World, Performed by Captain James Cook 2003
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Thus for the time being Schultes remained content to botanize in the hills around Huautla, focusing more on the plants than the people.
One River Wade Davis 1996
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While Vinton and his crew began clearing the dense secondary forest, Schultes finally had an opportunity to botanize.
One River Wade Davis 1996
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Though the rain that had followed us from Pasto increased from a drizzle to a downpour, Tim insisted it was an ideal time to botanize.
One River Wade Davis 1996
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While Vinton and his crew began clearing the dense secondary forest, Schultes finally had an opportunity to botanize.
One River Wade Davis 1996
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Though the rain that had followed us from Pasto increased from a drizzle to a downpour, Tim insisted it was an ideal time to botanize.
One River Wade Davis 1996
chained_bear commented on the word botanize
"'...we spent the day botanizing. We were also unperceived.'
"'How we botanized! Do you think we shall reach Bir Hafsa tomorrow?'
"'Which as Bir Hafsa?'
"'The resting-place where there was such a fine stretch of centaurea for the camels and where we found the curious euphorbia among the dunes.'
"'And the spiny lizards, the crested desert-lark, the anomalous wheatear. Perhaps we may: I hope so, indeed.'"
--Patrick O'Brian, Treason's Harbour, 219
February 19, 2008