edible
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of edible
First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin edibilis, equivalent to ed(ere) “to eat” + -ibilis adjective suffix; see origin at eat ( def. ), -ible
Explanation
If it’s edible, you can eat it. Many things that you may not want to eat are, in fact, edible. Certain insects are edible, which just means that you can consume them without getting sick (if it doesn't gross you out too much). Edible comes from the Latin word edere, which means “to eat.” Anything that people can safely eat is described as edible. Long before there were complex labels on our packages of food, human predecessors were living in caves and sampling various plants and animals for their survival, all the while learning the hard way whether or not certain things were either edible or poisonous. You are most likely a descendant of the ones who found the edible stuff.
Vocabulary lists containing edible
NAEP Test Words
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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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.
Tony is director of Tanimas Edible Oils and a shareholder in Green Product International.
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
You've already won some accolades, you were Edible Arrangement's “Sweetest Man Alive.”
From Salon • Aug. 22, 2024
Edible Paris is one section you’ll find on the city’s long, ambitious enviro menu — a larger regreening of the City of Light into the City of Lighter Environmental Impact.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2024
Tilth Alliance now hosts conferences, workshops and classes around the calendar, as well as community events like the group’s May Edible Plant Sale, which is May 4-5.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 20, 2024
This hill was Mwala wa Nyenje, meaning “The Rock of the Edible Flies,” named after the cliffs at its summit and the fat delicious flies that lived in its trees.
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
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.
