broccoli

American  

[brok-uh-lee, brok-lee] / ˈbrɒk ə li, ˈbrɒk li /

noun

1. a form of a cultivated cruciferous plant, Brassica oleracea botrytis, whose leafy stalks and clusters of usually green buds are eaten as a vegetable.

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broccoli British  

/ ˈbrɒkəlɪ /

noun

1. a cultivated variety of cabbage, Brassica oleracea italica , having branched greenish flower heads

2. the flower head of this plant, eaten as a vegetable before the buds have opened

3. a variety of this plant that does not form a head, whose stalks are eaten as a vegetable

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

broccoli

Chicken, mac and cheese and broccoli were served, Smith told ABC’s “The View.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

About three-fourths of the water taken from it flows to farmland, about 5 million acres of it, producing alfalfa for cattle as well as lettuce, broccoli and other crops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

They grow salad onions, broccoli and other vegetables on fields nearby, all irrigated by the lake water.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 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

Emma and Lisa-Marie Anne stay for dinner—Aunt Melissa ordered take-out instead of cooking for once—and the five of us exchange sneaky looks while passing cartons of kung pao chicken, moo shu pork, and broccoli beef.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

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