apple

[ ap-uhl ]

/ ˈæp əl /

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See synonyms for: apple / apples on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

the tree, cultivated in most temperate regions.

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

any of these trees.

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

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

Bowling. an ineffectively bowled ball.

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

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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-. Cf. Avalon

Words nearby apple

applanation tonometer, applanometry, applaud, applaudable, applause, apple, apple a day, apple bee, apple blight, apple blossom, apple box

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use apple in a sentence

In that sense, comparing 2000 to 2020 isn’t “apples to apples,” he says.
3 ways tech stocks resemble the 2000 bubble—and one way they don’t|Anne Sraders|September 16, 2020|Fortune
Many flowers, from apples to zinnias, sport both male and female parts.
‘Vampire’ parasite challenges the definition of a plant|Susan Milius|September 16, 2020|Science News For Students
This scrub also boasts a string of household ingredients such as pink Himalayan sea salt and apple cider vinegar to remove even the most stubborn dry patches.
Scalp scrubs that banish scaly patches and build-up|PopSci Commerce Team|September 4, 2020|Popular-Science
While the farm does sell some apples to wholesale distributors, Mofenson says, “Agritourism is really our primary focus.”
Pick Your Poison|Nick Mancall-Bitel|September 3, 2020|Eater

The worst thing that can happen to them is to serve with a bad apple.
Full Transcript: Tomi Lahren on ‘The Carlos Watson Show’|Daniel Malloy|August 31, 2020|Ozy
Leapolitan responded by saying, “hopefully youll [sic] bite into a poison apple.”
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem|David Levesley|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Apple customers, on the other hand, are used to paying premium for perceived quality.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The process of co-opting black music and selling it back to the adoring public in whiteface is as American as apple pie.
The Cultural Crimes of Iggy Azalea|Amy Zimmerman|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Companies like Delta, Apple, and Nike flex their political muscle on behalf of gay rights.
Corporations Are No Longer Silent on LGBT Issues||December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Apple, PetSmart, Wells Fargo, Marriott, and Delta also spoke out.
Corporations Are No Longer Silent on LGBT Issues||December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This gives to the second volume something of the smell of an apple store-room.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
Twenty acres of apple trees all in a orchard together, and twenty acres of strawberries set out betwixt and between the rows!
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
All this while Squinty was chewing on the apple which he had picked up from the ground after he had jumped over the rope.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
And it did not take Squinty long to learn to jump the rope when there was no apple on the other side.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
Then Squinty would toss the apple up in the air, off his nose, and catch it as it came down.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum

British Dictionary definitions for apple

apple

/ (ˈæpəl) /

noun

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 fruitsSee also crab apple

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

the wood of this tree

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

apple of one's eye a person or thing that is very precious or much loved

bad apple or rotten apple a person with a corrupting influence

Word Origin for apple

Old English æppel; related to Old Saxon appel, Old Norse apall, Old High German apful

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with apple

apple

In addition to the idioms beginning with apple

apple a day
apple of one's eye
apple polisher
apples and oranges

also see:

polish the apple
rotten apple
upset the applecart

apple

Origin of apple

Words nearby apple

Words related to apple

How to use apple in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for apple

Word Origin for apple

Other Idioms and Phrases with apple