melon

American  

[mel-uhn] / ˈmɛl ən /

noun

• melons
  plural

1. the fruit of any of various plants of the gourd family, as the muskmelon or watermelon.

2. medium crimson or deep pink.

3. the visible upper portion of the head of a surfacing whale or dolphin, including the beak, eyes, and blowhole.

4. Informal.

   1. a large extra dividend, often in the form of stock, to be distributed to stockholders.

      Profits zoomed so in the last quarter that the corporation cut a nice melon.

   2. any windfall of money to be divided among specified participants.

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melon British  

/ ˈmɛlən /

noun

1. any of several varieties of two cucurbitaceous vines, cultivated for their edible fruit See muskmelon watermelon

2. the fruit of any of these plants, which has a hard rind and juicy flesh

3. slang to declare an abnormally high dividend to shareholders

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• melons
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of melon

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin mēlōn- (stem of mēlō ), short for mēlopepō < Greek mēlopépōn apple-shaped melon, equivalent to mêlo ( n ) apple + pépōn pepo

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Explanation

A melon is a round, sweet fruit with a hard outer skin. Add some color to your fruit salad by including different types of melon, like honeydew and cantaloupe. Melons are actually a type of berry, although you wouldn't know that to look at a watermelon, which can weigh 20 pounds or more. Melons grow on vines, like squash and gourds, and their rinds are so thick they need to be cut open with a sharp knife. When a melon is ripe, its flesh is soft, sweet, and juicy. The Greek root is mēlopepon, "gourd-apple."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

melon melons

At the Farmers Market, breakfast is maybe three oranges, two apples, a basket of strawberries, half a melon and two peaches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Some batches are heavy on berries, some heavy on melon, but no two are the same.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

The son of an Australian melon farmer, Greensill worked at Morgan Stanley and Citigroup before founding his own firm in 2011.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

Bitter melon, or uchche in Bengali—a staple in Ma’s cooking.

From Salon ● May 9, 2026

I feel proud when I get through a whole day with only a bite of beef and a few spoonfuls of rice and a glass of melon juice.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

But separate comments in the interview about the "strange" present of Japanese melons by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in May -- when asked about his "most crap" diplomatic gift -- this week sparked further uproar.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

With dinner already half-imagined, I could pass the tomatoes and melons without treating each one as an alternate future I might regret abandoning.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

Spectacular celadons in forms that imitate lotuses, gourds or melons decorated with delicate inlaid and under-carved designs demonstrate peak Goryeo dynasty craftsmanship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Farmers arrived at dawn with tomatoes, gourds, chillies, lemons and melons.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

He went into the old man’s field to look at the melons, all round and full of slippery sinews of wet seeds.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

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Related Words

• cantaloupe
• gourd
• papaya
• watermelon

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