fruit

[froot]

noun

plural

fruits ,

plural

fruit .

1. any product of plant growth useful to humans or animals.

2. the developed ovary of a seed plant with its contents and accessory parts, as the pea pod, nut, tomato, or pineapple.

3. the edible part of a plant developed from a flower, with any accessory tissues, as the peach, mulberry, or banana.

4. the spores and accessory organs of ferns, mosses, fungi, algae, or lichen.

5. anything produced or accruing; product, result, or effect; return or profit.

   the fruits of one's labors.

6. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.,  a contemptuous term used to refer to a gay man.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to bear or cause to bear fruit.

   a tree that fruits in late summer; careful pruning that sometimes fruits a tree.

fruit

/ fruːt /

noun

1. botany the ripened ovary of a flowering plant, containing one or more seeds. It may be dry, as in the poppy, or fleshy, as in the peach

2. any fleshy part of a plant, other than the above structure, that supports the seeds and is edible, such as the strawberry

3. the specialized spore-producing structure of plants that do not bear seeds

4. any plant product useful to man, including grain, vegetables, etc

5. (often plural) the result or consequence of an action or effort

6. old-fashioned,  chap; fellow: used as a term of address

7. slang,  a person considered to be eccentric or insane

8. slang,  a male homosexual

9. archaic,  offspring of man or animals; progeny

verb

1. to bear or cause to bear fruit

fruit

1. The ripened ovary of a flowering plant that contains the seeds, sometimes fused with other parts of the plant. Fruits can be dry or fleshy. Berries, nuts, grains, pods, and drupes are fruits.

2. ◆ Fruits that consist of ripened ovaries alone, such as the tomato and pea pod, are called true fruits.

3. ◆ Fruits that consist of ripened ovaries and other parts such as the receptacle or bracts, as in the apple, are called accessory fruits or false fruits.

4. See also aggregate fruit multiple fruit simple fruit See Note at berry

fruit

1. In botany, the part of a seed-bearing plant that contains the fertilized seeds capable of generating a new plant (see fertilization). Fruit develops from the female part of the plant. Apples, peaches, tomatoes, and many other familiar foods are fruits.

Usage

To most of us, a fruit is a plant part that is eaten as a dessert or snack because it is sweet, but to a botanist a fruit is a mature ovary of a plant, and as such it may or may not taste sweet. All species of flowering plants produce fruits that contain seeds. A peach, for example, contains a pit that can grow into a new peach tree, while the seeds known as peas can grow into another pea vine. To a botanist, apples, peaches, peppers, tomatoes, pea pods, cucumbers, and winged maple seeds are all fruits. A vegetable is simply part of a plant that is grown primarily for food. Thus, the leaf of spinach, the root of a carrot, the flower of broccoli, and the stalk of celery are all vegetables. In everyday, nonscientific speech we make the distinction between sweet plant parts (fruits) and nonsweet plant parts (vegetables). This is why we speak of peppers and cucumbers and squash—all fruits in the eyes of a botanist—as vegetables.

Other Word Forms

• fruitlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fruit¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin frūctus “enjoyment, profit, fruit,” equivalent to frūg-, variant stem of fruī “to enjoy the produce of” + -tus suffix of verbal action

Word History and Origins

Origin of fruit¹

C12: from Old French, from Latin frūctus enjoyment, profit, fruit, from frūī to enjoy

Idioms and Phrases

see bear fruit; forbidden fruit.

Example Sentences

The cooked toast is garnished with fresh fruit, butter, powdered sugar and maple syrup.

From Salon

The virus, which is thought to have originated in fruit bats, was first detected in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now DR Congo.

From BBC

"I'm excited for everyone to see the fruits of their labour, and meet me at my stillest."

From BBC

Eating fruits and vegetables is another way to stay healthy.

From Salon

The shop stocks fresh vegetables, fruit and meat, along with some toys and clothing.

From BBC

Related Words

• berry 
• crop 
• grain 
• nut 
• produce 
• product