broccoli

American  

[brok-uh-lee, brok-lee] / ˈbrɒk ə li, ˈbrɒk li /

noun

1. a form of a cultivated cruciferous plant, Brassica oleracea botrytis, whose leafy stalks and clusters of usually green buds are eaten as a vegetable.

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broccoli British  

/ ˈbrɒkəlɪ /

noun

1. a cultivated variety of cabbage, Brassica oleracea italica , having branched greenish flower heads

2. the flower head of this plant, eaten as a vegetable before the buds have opened

3. a variety of this plant that does not form a head, whose stalks are eaten as a vegetable

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Usage

What else does broccoli mean? Content warning: this article references illicit drugs. When not referring to the actual vegetable, broccoli is slang for "marijuana."

Etymology

Origin of broccoli

1690–1700; < Italian, plural of broccolo, equivalent to brocc ( o ) sprout (< Late Latin; see broach) + -olo diminutive suffix

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

broccoli

This is what you would find in half an orange, three to four florets of cooked broccoli or one-third of a glass of orange juice.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

It is in our nature to see something new and spit it out like we are 2 years old and PepsiCo has offered us a spoonful of broccoli.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

About three-fourths of the water that’s taken out is used for agriculture, growing alfalfa for cattle as well as lettuce, broccoli and other crops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

That small revelation — broccoli in hand, phone glowing red — gets at the gap Goldner says he built the app to address.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Calamity followed Finn as he weeded and watered their puny half acre of new vegetables—asparagus, kale, onion, beans, carrots, spinach, beets, broccoli, tomatoes.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

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