banana
Americannoun
-
bananas
plural
-
a tropical plant of the genus Musa, certain species of which are cultivated for their nutritious fruit.
-
the fruit, especially that of M. paradisiaca, with yellow or reddish rind.
noun
-
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
-
the crescent-shaped fruit of any of these plants Compare plantain 2
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Spelling Practice 2, Unit 7
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
For farmers, dry soils have disrupted the growth of fruit and cacao trees as well as banana and coffee plants, contributing to crop losses.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
In Sidmouth, families gathered to watch the event, with children describing it as a "once in a lifetime opportunity" and others comparing the shape of the Sun to a banana.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Edible Arrangements’ strawberry and banana cones offer the fun of chocolate-dipped fruit without committing to one of the brand’s elaborate arrangements.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
The only delightful new practical shot is when Johnson peels a banana with his teeth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
This alarm conveniently frightened away a fellow monkey who had just found a banana, leaving the liar all alone to steal the prize for itself.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
The plant material included cultivated wheat, carrots, maize, bananas and peanuts.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
By slashing prices on some core items, Primark is likely hoping to woo shoppers with low-cost staples, in the same way that supermarkets attract customers with cheap milk and bananas, Berg says.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Lamont’s recommendation therefore, is to exercise patience.”IPOs are like bananas: they need to ripen before they’re ready to eat.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
So when the final whistle sounded, he took it as a cue to go absolutely bananas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Liyana and Rafik had bathing suits on under their clothes, bottled water, towels, and a basket of small bananas.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
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.
