almond

American  

[ah-muhnd, am-uhnd, al-muhnd] / ˈɑ mənd, ˈæm ənd, ˈæl mənd /

noun

almonds plural

1. the nutlike kernel of the fruit of either of two trees, Prunus dulcis sweet almond or P. dulcis amara bitter almond, which grow in warm temperate regions.

2. the tree itself.

3. a delicate, pale tan.

4. anything shaped like an almond, especially an ornament.

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adjective

1. of the color, taste, or shape of an almond.

2. made or flavored with almonds.

   almond cookies.

almond British  

/ ˈɑːmənd /

noun

1. a small widely cultivated rosaceous tree, Prunus amygdalus, that is native to W Asia and has pink flowers and a green fruit containing an edible nutlike seed

2. the oval-shaped nutlike edible seed of this plant, which has a yellowish-brown shell

3. (modifier) made of or containing almonds

   almond cake

4. 1. a pale yellowish-brown colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      almond wallpaper

5. Also called: almond green. 

   1. yellowish-green colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      an almond skirt

6. anything shaped like an almond nut

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• almondlike
  adjective
• almondy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• almonds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of almond

1250–1300; Middle English almande < Old French (dial.) alemande, probably by transposition of -la < Late Latin amandula, with assimilative replacement of the unfamiliar cluster and adaptation to a known suffix, representing Latin amygdala < Greek amygdálē; replacing Old English amigdal < Latin

Explanation

An almond is an oval-shaped nut that grows inside a hard shell. Almonds grow on almond trees. Almonds are native to Mediterranean climates, particularly South Asia and the Middle East, and have spread to parts of North Africa, Southern Europe, and California. Almond trees flower in the spring, before the nuts are ready to harvest. While wild almonds are poisonous, the nut of the domesticated, sweet almond is delicious. We know the word almond comes from the Greek amygdalos, or "almond tree," but its origin beyond that is uncertain.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

almond almonds

I sit for a slice of tarta de Santiago, almond and lemon and a work of art itself.

From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026

Right away, I’ll have granola or Grape Nuts with almond milk and blueberries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026

Farmers pay Funkhouser to truck his bees across the country -- as far as the almond fields of California -- where they spend around two weeks pollinating crops.

From Barron's ● May 19, 2026

On the plains of northwestern Iran, edged by snow-ribboned ridges, spring nudges almond trees into frothy bloom and a fragile ceasefire brings more traffic onto highways, and more Iranians back to their homeland.

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

Mrs. McCullough, she was sure, must have an array of bath products at her disposal: all those lotions and soaps and creams made just for babies, rich with shea butter and almond oil and lavender.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

But in some ways, almonds are old news, considering American almond farmers planted their first commercial crop in 1843.

From Salon ● May 6, 2026

On and around the dry lake bed, water gushes from wells into ditches to fields of tomatoes, cotton, almonds, grapes and other crops.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

Between checkpoints she would snack on cashews and almonds and then at the end of that day's marathon she would have curry, rice, eggs and roti, as well as crisps and chocolate for extra calories.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026

There are also five different hot sauces for crew members to choose from and six desserts to satisfy their sweet tooth: pudding, cookies, chocolate, cake, candy-coated almonds and cobbler.

From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2026

When Blanca finished eating she asked me if I could go out and get her a Hershey bar with almonds, she had a craving.

From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez