Flour and Flower – What’s the Difference?

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Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

I know “flour” and “flower” look like they’d be pronounced completely different, but they actually sound the same, making them homophones in the English language. So, if they sound alike, can they be used interchangeably? No, not really, and I’ll explain why right here.

Difference Between Flour and Flower

Flour and Flower Whats the Difference

Flour and flower are homophones, words that sound the same to the ear but are spelled differently. Flour is a fine, dusty powder made from grinding grains, seeds, or roots, and a flower is a beautiful, colorful, and sometimes fragrant reproductive organ found in plants.

Fun fact: Flour was once spelled as a flower until they changed it in the 1700s to avoid confusion.

Meaning of Flower

A flower isn’t just a pretty thing to put in your garden; it’s actually a plant’s reproductive structure. It consists of the petals, the stamen, and a pistil. You’ll find them in millions of shapes, colors, and sizes, and they play a super important role in pollination and seed production for our planet.

Flower is a word in English as early as 1200, from the Latin flos, meaning flower.

On a lighter note, flowers are also used for decorations, gifts, or in various cultural and religious rituals. Take a Hawaiian flower lei, for example.

Meaning of Flour

Flour is what we use for baking and cooking. It’s really just a powder that you can make by grinding any type of grain or seeds. The most popular type of flour is made from wheat, which is in all our basic bread, pasta, cakes, and other pastries. But you can make flour out of nearly anything, like rice, corn, nuts, and oats.

Flower vs. Flour Pronunciation

The right pronunciation of flower and flour is pretty much identical, which can lead to a lot of confusion when speaking because you don’t have the spelling to set the context. Both are pronounced as flau-ur.

But, with that being said, I know certain cultures and dialects say it a bit differently, like my late grandmother, for example. She was a Newfoundlander, through and through, and she baked every day, so I heard her say the word flour a million times, and she always said it as flaw-er.

Flour Examples in a Sentence

Flour and Flower Whats the Difference 1
  • I really need to buy some all-purpose flour for baking a cake because regular flour won’t do.
  • I prefer rice flour over wheat.
  • I can’t count how many times people forget that I can’t eat flour. 
  • My mom always added a tablespoon of flour to thicken her sauces.
  • Of all the types of flour, I think almonds might be the easiest on my tummy.
  • The recipe calls for whole wheat flour instead of white flour, so it’s a little healthier.
  • The local bakery uses high-quality flour to make their bread but also offers gluten-free options.

Flower Examples in a Sentence

  • I worked so hard for years, and now my garden is filled with beautiful flowers of different colors.
  • She’s just the flower of youth, isn’t she?
  • Daffodils are a popular garden flower.
  • The bride’s dress was absolutely beautiful, adorned with delicate flower embroidery.
  • The Hindu festival of Holi is gorgeous and celebrates spring’s arrival with colorful flowers.
  • My grandmother was the type of person to care for weeds as she did her flowers. 
  • My favorite flower is the black dahlia.

Grind Flowers Into Flour 

And that’s about it! So, the next time you find yourself second-guessing things, just remember that “flour” is the ground powder for cooking and baking, and “flower” is the beautiful plant found in our garden.

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