banana
Americannoun
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a tropical plant of the genus Musa, certain species of which are cultivated for their nutritious fruit.
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the fruit, especially that of M. paradisiaca, with yellow or reddish rind.
noun
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any of several tropical and subtropical herbaceous treelike plants of the musaceous genus Musa , esp M. sapientum , a widely cultivated species propagated from suckers and having hanging clusters of edible fruit
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the crescent-shaped fruit of any of these plants Compare plantain 2
Etymology
Origin of banana
1590–1600; < Spanish < Portuguese (perhaps via Sp); akin to various words for banana or plantain in WAfr languages (e.g., Wolof, Malinke banana, Vai (Mande language of Liberia) bana ), but ultimate source and direction of borrowing uncertain
Explanation
A banana is a curved, yellow fruit with a thick skin and soft sweet flesh. If you eat a banana every day for breakfast, your roommate might nickname you "the monkey." A banana is a tropical fruit that's quite popular all over the world. It grows in bunches on a banana tree. To "go bananas" is a slangy way of saying "go crazy" or act ridiculous, and if someone refers to the "top banana," they mean the most important person in a particular group. The origin of banana isn't certain, but it's thought that it was borrowed by the Spanish or Portuguese from an African word, probably the Wolof word banana.
Vocabulary lists containing banana
Yellow
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Spelling Practice 2, Unit 7
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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.
“That is a cute little wild dog. … The effervescence there. I hope they eat a banana just like they always do.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
“Let’s just hope he doesn’t slip on any ballroom banana peels, though, if he can dodge a fastball, he can handle a quickstep!”
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
In my house, black beans are to brownies as bananas are to banana bread.
From Salon • May 5, 2026
Devotees poured water on the streets, while some laid green banana leaves and flowers for the monks to walk on to escape the scorching heat.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
I fill my paper plate with unappetizing pastries—miniature muffins, a Danish filled with some dark, unidentifiable jam—a banana with too much green along its curved rind, and a firm, cool-skinned orange.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
