banana

American  

[buh-nan-uh] / bəˈnæn ə /

noun

1. a tropical plant of the genus Musa, certain species of which are cultivated for their nutritious fruit.

2. the fruit, especially that of M. paradisiaca, with yellow or reddish rind.

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banana British  

/ bəˈnɑːnə /

noun

1. any of several tropical and subtropical herbaceous treelike plants of the musaceous genus Musa , esp M. sapientum , a widely cultivated species propagated from suckers and having hanging clusters of edible fruit

2. the crescent-shaped fruit of any of these plants Compare plantain 2

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banana Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing banana

• drive someone crazy (bananas)
• go bananas
• top banana

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Etymology

Origin of banana

1590–1600; < Spanish < Portuguese (perhaps via Sp); akin to various words for banana or plantain in WAfr languages (e.g., Wolof, Malinke banana, Vai (Mande language of Liberia) bana ), but ultimate source and direction of borrowing uncertain

Example Sentences

I was the third or fourth banana on the show, and he was yelling and I stopped and said, “Knock it off.”

From Los Angeles Times

This gets to the core of the matter: AI is driving runaway demand for processors like those Nvidia makes, but they would be paperweights without memory, so demand there is going bananas, too.

From Barron's

And in November, the president signed an order that allowed certain key food products - including coffee, bananas and beef - to escape his tariffs.

From BBC

Then came the relief on bananas, coffee, beef and many farm products.

From The Wall Street Journal

In November, the president rolled back levies on beef, coffee, bananas and dozens of other agricultural goods to address concerns about the cost of living.

From The Wall Street Journal

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