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arugula

American

[uh-roo-guh-luh] / əˈru gə lə /

noun

a Mediterranean plant, Eruca vesicaria sativa, of the mustard family, having pungent leaves used in salads.

arugula British

/ əˈruːɡjʊlə /

noun

another name for rocket 2

"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

Etymology

Origin of arugula

1965–70; apparently < an Upper Italian dial. form, akin to Lombard arigola, Venetian rucola < Latin ērūca name for Eruca sativa (compare Italian ruca ), with diminutive suffix -ola < Latin -ula -ule; rocket ²

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.

I’ll often serve it with an arugula salad.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

Add a crisp cabbage slaw next to your Tex-Mex skillet; a sharp arugula salad with your skillet arancini.

From Salon • Sep. 23, 2025

It comes with a little ketchup on it and I get a side salad, which is like arugula and a little Parmesan and maybe a small orange juice.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2025

Leafy greens and herbs: arugula, spinach, beet greens, mustard greens, radish tops, kale, dandelion, nasturtiums, fennel fronds, nettles, lovage, microgreens.

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2025

Maxine orders grilled salmon on top of arugula and an Arnold Palmer.

From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023