avocado

American  

[av-uh-kah-doh, ah-vuh-] / ˌæv əˈkɑ doʊ, ˌɑ və- /

noun

• avocados
  plural

1. Also called alligator pear. a large, usually pear-shaped fruit having green to blackish skin, a single large seed, and soft, light-green pulp, borne by the tropical American tree Persea americana and its variety P. adrymifolia, often eaten raw, especially in salads.

2. the tree itself.

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avocado British  

/ ˌævəˈkɑːdəʊ /

noun

1. a pear-shaped fruit having a leathery green or blackish skin, a large stony seed, and a greenish-yellow edible pulp

2. the tropical American lauraceous tree, Persea americana, that bears this fruit

3. 1. a dull greenish colour resembling that of the fruit

   2. (as modifier)

      an avocado bathroom suite

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• avocados
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of avocado

1690–1700; alteration of Spanish abogado literally, lawyer ( see advocate), by confusion with Mexican Spanish aguacate < Nahuatl āhuacatl avocado, testicle; cf. alligator pear

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Explanation

An avocado is a fruit with a thick green skin and mild, creamy flesh. If you've ever eaten guacamole, you've tasted avocado. It might seem strange that an avocado is a fruit, because it's not sweet. Avocados have to be cut open before you eat them, and the hard pit in the middle needs to be removed. The inside of an avocado is firm but soft, a pale green shade. The word avocado is Spanish, from aguacate, and rooted in a Proto-Aztecan word, *pawa, that also meant avocado.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

avocado avocados

For now, plug your wired headphones into your iPhone 6S, press play on the Hamilton soundtrack, and order as many avocado toasts you want.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

Eating mango and avocado every day could offer unexpected benefits for heart health, according to new research.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026

Dobbertin, who spent years in Thailand, created her own crunchwrap featuring a tortilla wrapped around marinated chicken in a khao soi coconut curry with avocado basil ranch and crisp wheat noodles for added crunch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

I could eat it every day with a side of avocado.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

After an avocado salad lunch on the day Joe Mondragon first began to irrigate his beanfield, Ladd Devine’s starched and prissified personal secretary, Emerson Lapp, scuttled like a nervous crayfish into the Devines’ private den.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Customers could specify how ripe they wanted their avocados, leave detailed instructions and select acceptable substitutions in advance.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

Agricultural produce commonly exported includes mangoes, avocados, herbs and grapes.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Among the many changes wrought by the North American Free Trade Agreement was the termination, in 1997, of the U.S. ban on the importation of Mexican avocados.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

The press praised Kate for eating avocados to help cure her morning sickness when she was pregnant in 2017.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

They hauled broken bits out of the pool and into the compost heap, and saved two avocados, a tomato, and ten more strawberries.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

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