broccoli
Americannoun
noun
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a cultivated variety of cabbage, Brassica oleracea italica , having branched greenish flower heads
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the flower head of this plant, eaten as a vegetable before the buds have opened
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a variety of this plant that does not form a head, whose stalks are eaten as a vegetable
Usage
What else does broccoli mean? Content warning: this article references illicit drugs. When not referring to the actual vegetable, broccoli is slang for "marijuana."
Etymology
Origin of broccoli
1690–1700; < Italian, plural of broccolo, equivalent to brocc ( o ) sprout (< Late Latin; see broach) + -olo diminutive suffix
Vocabulary lists containing broccoli
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.
Chicken, mac and cheese and broccoli were served, Smith told ABC’s “The View.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
For their study, the scientists at King's College London analysed 12 raw or uncooked fresh foods - beetroot, bell pepper, broccoli, butternut squash, cauliflower, celeriac, curly kale, fennel, kiwi fruit, leek, pineapple and watermelon.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
I tried it recently in my neighborhood supermarket and discovered, phone in hand, that a package of Earthbound Farm broccoli florets had a Taylor Farms connection I would otherwise never have known about.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
This is what you would find in half an orange, three to four florets of cooked broccoli or one-third of a glass of orange juice.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
There was some concern because things were being planted late in the season, but most of the vegetables had gotten a head start in a greenhouse: string beans, corn, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cabbage, potatoes, broccoli.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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