apple

American  

[ap-uhl] / ˈæp əl /

noun

1. the usually round, red or yellow, edible fruit of a small tree, Malus sylvestris, of the rose family.

2. the tree, cultivated in most temperate regions.

3. the fruit of any of certain other species of tree of the same genus.

4. any of these trees.

5. any of various other similar fruits, or fruitlike products or plants, as the custard apple, love apple, May apple, or oak apple.

6. Informal. anything resembling an apple in size and shape, as a ball, especially a baseball.

7. Bowling. an ineffectively bowled ball.

8. Slang. a red capsule containing a barbiturate, especially secobarbital.

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apple British  

/ ˈæpəl /

noun

1. a rosaceous tree, Malus sieversii , native to Central Asia but widely cultivated in temperate regions in many varieties, having pink or white fragrant flowers and firm rounded edible fruits See also crab apple

2. the fruit of this tree, having red, yellow, or green skin and crisp whitish flesh

3. the wood of this tree

4. any of several unrelated trees that have fruits similar to the apple, such as the custard apple, sugar apple, and May apple See also love apple oak apple thorn apple

5. a person or thing that is very precious or much loved

6. a person with a corrupting influence

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apple Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing apple

• polish the apple
• rotten apple
• upset the applecart

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Etymology

Origin of apple

First recorded before 900; Middle English appel, Old English æppel; cognate with Old Frisian, Dutch appel, Old Saxon apl, appul, Old High German apful ( German Apfel ), Crimean Gothic apel, from unattested Germanic aplu (akin to Old Norse epli, from unattested apljan ); Old Irish ubull (neuter), Welsh afal, Breton aval, from unrecorded pre-Celtic ǫblu; Lithuanian óbuolas, -ỹs, Latvian âbuol(i)s (with reshaped suffix), Old Prussian woble, perhaps Thracian (din)upla, (sin)upyla “wild pumpkin,” Old Church Slavonic (j)ablŭko (representing unrecorded ablŭ-ko, neuter), from unattested Balto-Slavic āblu-. Avalon

Example Sentences

Domestic growers do worry, however, about cheap imports on items such as apples, which they believe could have dire impacts on local producers.

From Barron's

A witness from a bar Kirsty and Grabham had been to that night remembered serving her sangria with apple floating in it.

From BBC

Chop the apples and pears into cubes and add them into the bowl.

From Salon

The Super Bowl may be as American as apple pie, but a surprising number of this year's stars hail from overseas.

From Barron's

As organizers headed back to their vehicles Friday, Pepe de la Torre, 64, ate a red apple and gazed at the crowd.

From Los Angeles Times

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