apple

American  

[ap-uhl] / ˈæp əl /

noun

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

2. the tree, cultivated in most temperate regions.

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

4. any of these trees.

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

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

7. Bowling. an ineffectively bowled ball.

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

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apple British  

/ ˈæpəl /

noun

1. 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 fruits See also crab apple

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

3. the wood of this tree

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

5. a person or thing that is very precious or much loved

6. a person with a corrupting influence

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apple Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing apple

• polish the apple
• rotten apple
• upset the applecart

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Etymology

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-. Avalon

Explanation

An apple is a round fruit with red or green skin and a whitish inside. One variety of apple might be sweet, another sour. The apple isn't just a fruit. It's a symbol — from the apples eaten by Adam and Eve in the Biblical creation story, which symbolize the loss of innocent to the expression "American as apple pie" to mean something that is wholesome. The "apple of your eye" is the person who delights you — maybe you are the apple of your grandfather's eye. He might tell you, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," meaning the fruit is good for your health.

Example Sentences

News of a two-week ceasefire aimed at resolving the conflict comes too late for this growing season, says Ali, who represents British apple and pear growers.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Along Main Street, the mingled scents of woodsmoke and apple pie drift from storefronts.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

He included the bite mark for scale to set the apple apart from similar round fruit like cherries -- learning only later it was a homonym for the computer term "byte".

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

Think of it this way: If you snack on a bag of donuts, then you’re unlikely to reach for an apple or a handful of almonds, and you may even skip a nutritionally balanced meal.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026

Because I had given him an apple Jimbo decided that he wanted to give me something.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

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