noun

• 1The crest or comb of a rooster.

  ‘This pie would be one containing especially fine titbits such as cockscombs and sweetbreads.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The museum owns two masks, which are similar to the present example; they are adorned with a cockscomb and horns but no chameleons.’
  • ‘Joe - black skullcap, five red spikes sprouting like a deranged cockscomb from ear to ear - had spent the night at Sam's house.’
  • ‘The chef's favorite offal product, tripe, graces the menu, as do rubbery coxcombs (braised, with green chilies), and sweetbreads fried like chicken in a crunchy, salty batter.’

• 2A tropical plant with a crest or plume of tiny yellow, orange, or red flowers, widely cultivated as a garden annual or a houseplant.

  Celosia cristata, family Amaranthaceae

  ‘Flower stands are jam-packed with summer's best bouquets: dahlias, daisies, cockscombs and especially lilies of all sorts in mouth-watering colors.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Covered in dried flowers - such as cockscomb, bells of Ireland, and gomphrena - these wreaths pack visual punch on the front door or over the mantel.’
  • ‘Plant hot weather annuals such as cockscomb, Madagascar periwinkle, portulaca, and annual salvias.’

• 3An orchid related to the coralroots but with more colorful flowers, native to southern North America.

  Genus Hexalectris, family Orchidaceae