berry
noun
any small, usually stoneless, juicy fruit, irrespective of botanical structure, as the huckleberry, strawberry, or hackberry.
berry
1 American
[ber-ee]
/ ˈbɛr i /
noun
-
berries
plural
-
any small, usually stoneless, juicy fruit, irrespective of botanical structure, as the huckleberry, strawberry, or hackberry.
-
Botany. a simple fruit having a pulpy pericarp in which the seeds are embedded, as the grape, gooseberry, currant, or tomato.
-
a dry seed or kernel, as of wheat.
-
the hip of the rose.
-
one of the eggs of a lobster, crayfish, etc.
-
Older Slang. the berries, someone or something very attractive or unusual.
verb (used without object)
-
berries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
berried,
past participle, past
-
berrying
present participle
-
to gather or pick berries.
We went berrying this morning.
-
to bear or produce berries.
Berry
2
American
[ber-ee, be-ree]
/ ˈbɛr i, bɛˈri /
noun
-
Charles Edward Anderson Chuck, 1926–2017, U.S. rock-'n'-roll singer, musician, and composer.
-
Also Berri. a former province in central France.
berry
1
British
/ ˈbɛrɪ /
noun
-
any of various small edible fruits such as the blackberry and strawberry
-
botany an indehiscent fruit with two or more seeds and a fleshy pericarp, such as the grape or gooseberry
-
any of various seeds or dried kernels, such as a coffee bean
-
the egg of a lobster, crayfish, or similar animal
verb
-
to bear or produce berries
-
to gather or look for berries
Berry
2
British
noun
-
Chuck , full name Charles Edward Berry . born 1926, US rock-and-roll guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His frequently covered songs include "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), "Memphis, Tennessee" (1959), and "Promised Land" (1964)
-
Jean de France (ʒɑ̃ də frɑ̃s), Duc de. 1340–1416, French prince, son of King John II; coregent (1380–88) for Charles VI and a famous patron of the arts
berry
Scientific
/ bĕr′ē /
-
A simple fruit that has many seeds in a fleshy pulp. Grapes, bananas, tomatoes, and blueberries are berries.
-
Compare drupe pome See more at simple fruit
-
A seed or dried kernel of certain kinds of grain or other plants such as wheat, barley, or coffee.
Usage
What does berry mean? A berry is a small, stoneless, juicy fruit. Commonly, a berry is any small fruit that has no pit and usually produces juice. Berries range from sweet, such as the blueberry, to sour, such as the raspberry. In botany, a berry is specifically a fruit with a pulpy outer wall and many seeds. Botanically, then, some fruits commonly thought of as berries are not actually berries, including strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Fruits that botanically are berries include blueberries, bananas, grapes, and tomatoes. Less commonly, berry can also refer to a dry seed or kernel. As a verb, to berry means to pick berries or to produce berries. Example: We picked berries today, filling up three whole baskets.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
berrysimple
-
berriessimple
-
have berriedperfect
-
has berriedperfect
-
am berryingprogressive
-
are berryingprogressive
-
is berryingprogressive
-
have been berryingperfect progressive
-
has been berryingperfect progressive
Past
-
berriedsimple
-
had berriedperfect
-
was berryingprogressive
-
were berryingprogressive
-
had been berryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of berry
before 1000; Middle English berie, Old English beri ( g ) e; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German beri ( German Beere ), Old Norse ber < Germanic basjá-; akin to Dutch besie, Gothic -basi < Germanic básja-
Vocabulary lists containing berry
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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.
See Examples For:
Many people are reconsidering their Caesar salad lunches and berry breakfasts as cases of cyclosporiasis, the explosive-diarrhea illness, continue to rise in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The standout drink on my visit was the triple berry matcha, made with first-harvest organic matcha, house-made berry syrup and vanilla cream.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
In contrast, the low PPO mixed berry smoothie produced flavanol levels similar to the capsule control.
From Science Daily ● May 24, 2026
The dark purple berry went global in the early 2000s after it was reinvented as a sweet sorbet, often topped with granola and fruit, and marketed for its antioxidant-rich properties.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
Nhamo cautiously tasted a berry: It was delicious.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Residents on Heol Berry, where the flooding took place, were also told they will be offered assistance with temporary housing.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
A solid debut, “England’s Newest Hitmakers” features covers of songs by Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry and Jimmy Reed, firmly grounding the group in its American blues and R&B influences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Berry Meyerowitz, the co-president of Quiver, the film’s distributor, said he expects the movie to be profitable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Each Beeswax Mixed Berry Birthday Candles set is cast from real mixed berries — strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and cherries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
“I’ll put in some extra work at the library this weekend. This is far more important,” Berry said.
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
Grizzly bears are — were — omnivores, not picky eaters, and also lazy ones, noshing on berries, roots, acorns, beached whale carcasses and any laggardly young elk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Cyclospora is a parasite that contaminates leafy greens, berries and herbs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
Nervous consumers are also avoiding berries and herbs, which have indentations that can trap microscopic parasites, though they haven’t been implicated in the recent outbreak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Experts also advise people avoid certain foods such as fresh uncooked berries and herbs, unpeeled fruit and salad items.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Ambrose Spike, now sufficiently recovered, sat in the storeroom taking stock: lots of nuts and preserved berries from last autumn; apples and pears aplenty.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
The floral arrangements used “English foliage — holly, berried ivy and red skimmia,” and the tree was to be recycled to be viewed by holiday visitors to Windsor.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 25, 2022
In fall, masses of winter pansies, ornamental kale and berried shrubs replace tender plantings in the massive window box and containers, while the trim boxwood hedges and clipped hollies carry the show throughout winter.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 27, 2021
They would not give me the price of the habit that was berried with their father.
From The Reminiscences of an Irish Land Agent by Sir Home Gordon, Bart.
The kissing bunch of berried holly hung with bright and glittering things, spun slowly over Mrs. Morel's head as she trimmed her little tarts in the kitchen.
From Sons and Lovers by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
Maine has a most stringent law forbidding the taking and selling of "berried" lobsters, and of any lobster under 10½ inches in length, but this law is evaded by numerous fishermen whenever possible.
From The Lobster Fishery of Maine Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, Vol. 19, Pages 241-265, 1899 by John N. (John Nathan) Cobb
They spoke most of the weather, and mentioned fishing, berrying and hunting as often as art.
From Time Magazine Archive
Joe and Marly did so much berrying, what with strawberries and then red raspberries and then blackberries, that Joe said he was absolutely berried-out.
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
I’m beginning to think she’s gone fishing or berrying and will not return until dusk.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Of course, I’m not going to follow her, although it would be easier than playing On the Track, the game we made up when went berrying or food gathering.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Returned to find all my tent mates gone berrying.
From An Artilleryman's Diary by Jenkins Lloyd Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
