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

Example Sentences

She’d take anything: stale bread crusts, cabbage leaves, even an apple or a bun sometimes, but I think she was always hoping for potatoes—as Mutti said, they were her real passion.

From Literature

Compared to all that stone-faced, enforced patriotism, the apple pie atmosphere of baseball is a breeze.

From Salon

“Project Hail Mary” is wholesome science fiction that satisfies like a jumbo serving of apple pie and milk.

From Los Angeles Times

We were coming up to the crossing of Quagmire Road and the Hog Scald Road, where there’s a high screen of hedge apple.

From Literature

He pointed to a scattering of cones at the base of a pine tree, each one gnawed to the core like an apple.

From Literature

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