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

There’s almond milk, soy milk and something called “half and half,” midway between milk and cream.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

A large coffee in central London, served with an alternative milk like soy or almond, is now closer to the £5 mark.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

I’ve made lovely versions with 2% milk, oat milk, almond milk, half-and-half and the random splash of buttermilk left lingering in the back of the fridge after a biscuit project.

From Salon ● May 25, 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

The explanation is that occasional individual almond trees have a mutation in a single gene that prevents them from synthesizing the bitter-tasting amygdalin.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

As for toppings, I like to add more bananas, preferably barely ripe or ripe, along with cut-up strawberries, slivered almonds and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 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

Melt-in-your-mouth meringue floats in a puddle of decadent crème anglaise, topped with caramel and toasted almonds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

My mother rides our donkey, and my brothers, Isaac and Jacob, carry our provisions—bread and cheese, eggplant empanadillas, roasted eggs, olives cured in salt, dried figs, almonds, and walnuts—and our few belongings.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar