bloom

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A bar of steel prepared for rolling.
• noun A mass of wrought iron ready for further working.
• noun The flower of a plant.
• noun Something resembling the flower of a plant.
• noun The condition of being in flower.
• noun A condition or time of vigor and beauty; prime.
• noun A fresh, rosy complexion.
• noun A waxy or powdery whitish to bluish coating on the surface of certain plant parts, as on cabbage leaves or on a plum or grape.
• noun A similar coating, as on newly minted coins.
• noun Grayish blotches or streaks on the surface of chocolate produced by the formation of cocoa butter crystals.
• noun Glare that is caused by a shiny object reflecting too much light into a camera.
• noun A colored area on the surface of a body of water caused by large numbers of phytoplankton, especially cyanobacteria.
• intransitive verb To bear a flower or flowers.
• intransitive verb To support plant life in abundance.
• intransitive verb To glow; be radiant.
• intransitive verb To mature or flourish with youth and vigor.
• intransitive verb To appear or come into being suddenly.
• intransitive verb To cause to flourish.
• intransitive verb Obsolete To cause to flower.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A blossom; the flower of a plant, especially of an ornamental plant; an expanded bud.
• noun The state of blossoming; the opening of flowers in general; flowers collectively: as, the plant is in bloom, or covered with bloom.
• noun A state of health and growth promising higher perfection; a flourishing condition; a palmy time: as, the bloom of youth.
• noun The rosy hue on the cheek indicative of youth and health; a glow; a flush.
• noun A name sometimes given to minerals having a bright color: as, the rose-red cobalt bloom, or erythrite, etc.
• noun A powdery deposit or coating of various kinds.
• noun The powdery appearance on coins, medals, and the like, when newly struck.
• noun In painting, a cloudy appearance on the surface of varnish.
• noun The yellowish fawn-colored deposit from the tanning-liquor on the surface of leather, and penetrating it to a slight depth.
• noun A fine variety of raisin.
• To produce or yield blossoms; flower, literally or figuratively.
• To glow with a warm color.
• To be in a state of healthful beauty and vigor; show the beauty of youth; flourish; glow.
• To put forth, as blossoms.
• To impart a bloom to; invest with luster or beauty.
• noun A roughly prepared mass of iron, nearly square in section, and short in proportion to its thickness, intended to be drawn out under the hammer or between the rolls into bars.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb rare To cause to blossom; to make flourish.
• transitive verb rare To bestow a bloom upon; to make blooming or radiant.
• intransitive verb To produce or yield blossoms; to blossom; to flower or be in flower.
• intransitive verb To be in a state of healthful, growing youth and vigor; to show beauty and freshness, as of flowers; to give promise, as by or with flowers.
• noun A mass of wrought iron from the Catalan forge or from the puddling furnace, deprived of its dross, and shaped usually in the form of an oblong block by shingling.
• noun A large bar of steel formed directly from an ingot by hammering or rolling, being a preliminary shape for further working.
• noun A blossom; the flower of a plant; an expanded bud; flowers, collectively.
• noun The opening of flowers in general; the state of blossoming or of having the flowers open.
• noun A state or time of beauty, freshness, and vigor; an opening to higher perfection, analogous to that of buds into blossoms.
• noun The delicate, powdery coating upon certain growing or newly-gathered fruits or leaves, as on grapes, plums, etc. Hence: Anything giving an appearance of attractive freshness; a flush; a glow.