asparagus

American  

[uh-spar-uh-guhs] / əˈspær ə gəs /

noun

1. any plant of the genus Asparagus, of the lily family, especially A. officianalis, cultivated for its edible shoots.

2. the shoots, eaten as a vegetable.

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asparagus British  

/ əˈspærəɡəs /

noun

1. any Eurasian liliaceous plant of the genus Asparagus, esp the widely cultivated A. officinalis, having small scaly or needle-like leaves

2. the succulent young shoots of A. officinalis, which may be cooked and eaten

3. a fernlike species of asparagus, A. plumosus, native to southern Africa

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Other Word Forms

• asparaginous adjective

Etymology

Origin of asparagus

before 1000; < Latin < Greek asp ( h ) áragos; replacing Old English sparagi (< Medieval Latin ) and later sperage, sparrowgrass

Example Sentences

The theater’s walk-up food window is serving pizza-inspired baked potatoes, a colored chocolate pretzel meant to mimic an asparagus pretzel wand, and more.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026

And for the evening meal, it's salmon, asparagus and brown rice.

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026

Although plant metabolite databases are far less complete than those for animals, the researchers identified compounds linked to regional plants such as aloe and asparagus.

From Science Daily • Jan. 3, 2026

She uses a medley of green vegetables with different textures, including broccolini, asparagus and peas in a pod.

From Salon • Dec. 15, 2025

The one vegetable I cooked that wasn’t grown by Cal- Organic or Earthbound was the asparagus.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan