pumpkin
Americannoun
-
pumpkins
plural
-
a large, edible, orange-yellow fruit borne by a coarse, decumbent vine, Cucurbita pepo, of the gourd family.
-
the similar fruit of any of several related species, as C. maxima or C. moschata.
-
a plant bearing such fruit.
noun
-
any of several creeping cucurbitaceous plants of the genus Cucurbita, esp C. pepo of North America and C. maxima of Europe
-
-
the large round fruit of any of these plants, which has a thick orange rind, pulpy flesh, and numerous seeds
-
( as modifier )
pumpkin pie
-
-
(often capital) a term of endearment
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pumpkin
1640–50; alteration of pumpion ( see -kin), variant of pompon < Middle French, nasalized variant of popon melon, earlier pepon < Latin pepōn- (stem of pepō ) < Greek pépōn kind of melon
Explanation
A pumpkin is a round, orange type of squash that grows on a plant also called a pumpkin. It’s the raw material for a jack-o’-lantern. Cook one up in a pie or name your precious poodle after it. Pumpkins are most commonly harvested in the fall, and they're often associated with Halloween, when people traditionally hollow them out and carve faces on them. Pumpkin is delicious in sweet and savory foods, and pumpkin pie is a popular Thanksgiving dessert in the US. The word was originally pompone, from the Greek root pepon, "melon," or literally, "cooked by the sun."
Vocabulary lists containing pumpkin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Elsewhere, King Gillette Ranch’s “Night of the Jack” is a milelong trail filled with pumpkin delights and illuminated installations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Under the dense foliage, soldiers on the ground work in what looks like a pumpkin patch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Consider a slice of pumpkin pie: This is “prime pumpkin season” in Illinois, the country’s top supplier of the gourd, said Jacob Goebbert, co-owner and operations manager of a farm in South Barrington, Ill.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Foods including avocado, quinoa, açaí, aguaymanto, chia, and pumpkin seeds were incorporated as locally accessible options.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
Just as soon as he swallows his last bite of pumpkin pie, Rod leaves.
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
Illinois’s harvest includes pumpkins for pie fillings this fall.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The dotty pumpkins and kaleidoscope rooms of Yayoi Kusama, who has died aged 97, were as vibrant as the artist herself, but her exuberant work was the expression of a long battle with mental illness.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Daisy’s husband Matt, for one, feels torn about the spoopiness that retailers foreground with their shelves of pastel pumpkins and rainbow-hued ghosts, and not just because of the aesthetics.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
“But just like in the fairy tale,” Mahmood said, “We can now see that those carriages can turn into pumpkins at the drop of a hat.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
Aside from the pumpkins and plants, the glass structure contained a generator to power the lights and the climate control.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
