tropical

TROH-pi-kuhl/ˈtɹoʊ.pɪ.kəl/TRO-pi-kuhl/ˈtɹɒp.ɪ.kəl/AUSTRAW-pi-kuhl/ˈtɹɔp.ɪ.kəl/

Noun pluraltropicals

5 meanings of tropical

1
adjective
Belonging to or found in the hot regions near the equator.
Like the warm middle band around a globe, where it stays hot most of the year.
Bananas grow well in tropical countries.
The island has a warm, tropical climate all year.
Similarequatorial
Oppositepolar
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2
adjective
Hot and damp, like the weather in a steamy jungle.
Like stepping into a warm, steamy bathroom after a hot shower.
The greenhouse felt tropical even in the middle of winter.
August in the city was hot and tropical.
Similarhumid, steamy, sultry, muggy, sweltering
Oppositecold, chilly, frigid, arctic
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3
nouncountable
A plant that grows naturally in hot, wet parts of the world.
He bought a tropical for his living room window.
These tropicals need plenty of warmth and water.
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4
adjective
Belonging to a type of math where you take the smaller or larger of two numbers instead of adding them.
Her class started learning tropical math this term.
Our math teacher drew a tropical curve on the board using only straight lines.
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Less common meaning

5
adjectivedated
Using a word to mean something other than its plain, everyday meaning.
The poet's tropical language turned the sea into a living beast.
The foundation of all parables is some analogy or similitude between the tropical or allusive part of the parable and the thing intended by it.
1692, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several OccasionsHere, tropical means figurative, using a comparison or image.
Similarfigurative, metaphorical, allegorical
Oppositeliteral
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Practice

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Origin

From the word "tropic" plus "-al".