inedible
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inedible
Explanation
The adjective inedible is good for describing a food that cannot be eaten, like your grandmother's burnt toast, or an object that shouldn't be eaten, like your snow boots. Some things are literally inedible, like your dining room table or a cast iron skillet, while others are described as inedible in a more figurative way: "I can't stand cilantro — now this taco is totally inedible!" The word has been around since the early 1800s to mean "unfit to eat," combining the Latin prefix in, which means "not" or "the opposite," with edibilis, "eatable" in Late Latin.
Vocabulary lists containing inedible
The Sea of Monsters
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Everything, Everything
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The Last Beekeeper
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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.
Inedible plants crossed the Atlantic as well, from grasses and ornamental flowers to dandelions.
From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018
Inedible components such as blood, internal organs, hide, and feathers are used for a variety of applications including leather, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and many other household and industrial products.
From Slate • Sep. 28, 2015
I spent practically a whole afternoon collecting chestnuts and when I got back Piper looked at me with as close as she ever got to contempt and said Those are Horse Chestnuts and Inedible.
From "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff
Inedible until boiled, it was a staple winter food at home and on long expeditions, among various tribes of the Northwest.
From Trees Worth Knowing by Rogers, Julia Ellen
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.
