cabbage

¹ American  

[kab-ij] / ˈkæb ɪdʒ /

noun

1. any of several cultivated varieties of a plant, Brassica oleracea capitata, of the mustard family, having a short stem and leaves formed into a compact, edible head.

2. the head or leaves of this plant, eaten cooked or raw.

3. Slang. money, especially paper money.

4. Chiefly British Informal.

   1. a stupid, dull, or spiritless person.

   2. a mentally impaired person who is unable to live independently; vegetable.

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cabbage ² American  

[kab-ij] / ˈkæb ɪdʒ /

noun

1. Chiefly British.

   1. cloth scraps that remain after a garment has been cut from a fabric and that by custom the tailor may claim.

   2. Also called cab.  such scraps used for reprocessing.

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verb (used with or without object)

cabbaged, cabbaging

1. to steal; pilfer.

   He cabbaged whole yards of cloth.

cabbage ¹ British  

/ ˈkæbɪdʒ /

noun

1. Also called: cole.  any of various cultivated varieties of the plant Brassica oleracea capitata, typically having a short thick stalk and a large head of green or reddish edible leaves: family Brassicaceae (crucifers) See also brassica savoy Compare skunk cabbage Chinese cabbage

2. a European plant, Brassica oleracea, with broad leaves and a long spike of yellow flowers: the plant from which the cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprout have been bred

3. 1. the head of a cabbage

   2. the edible leaf bud of the cabbage palm

4. informal a dull or unimaginative person

5. informal a person who has no mental faculties and is dependent on others for his or her subsistence

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cabbage ² British  

/ ˈkæbɪdʒ /

noun

1. snippets of cloth appropriated by a tailor from a customer's material

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verb

1. to steal; pilfer

Other Word Forms

• cabbagelike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cabbage¹

1350–1400; Middle English caboche, caboge, cabage head of cabbage < dialectal Old French (Picardy, Normandy) literally, head, noggin, equivalent to ca- formative in expressive words, of uncertain origin + boche; see boss ², botch ²

Origin of cabbage²

1615–25; earlier carbage shred, piece of cloth, apparently variant of garbage wheat straw chopped small (obsolete sense)

Explanation

Cabbage is a vegetable with thick, lettuce-like leaves. You can grow both green and purple cabbage in your garden. You might shred some cabbage, mix it with chopped carrots and mayonnaise, and make coleslaw. Sauerkraut is another popular side dish made with cabbage. The cabbage plant is a close relation to broccoli and cauliflower, and has other plant relatives that are purely ornamental. In the 15th century, it was caboge, from the Middle French word caboche, or "head," ultimately from the Latin root caput, also "head."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cabbage cabbaged cabbaging

Peta pitched the idea as an opportunity to support local farmers who grow cabbage.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

The Taylor family is credited with helping to pioneer numerous innovations, from bagged salads to the U.S. industry’s first automated harvesters for romaine lettuce, cabbage and celery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Crisp bacon, juicy diced tomatoes and ribbons of shaved green cabbage get folded in at the end, where they stay cool, crunchy and unmistakably BLT-adjacent.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

The first night, I topped bowls with avocado and sour cream; the second, I spooned leftovers over white rice with shredded cabbage and green onion left over from another dinner earlier in the week.

From Salon ● May 19, 2026

The old nun was cutting up a cabbage, and Malcolm took a knife and helped her.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

But, worse . . . state and city officials have cabbaged on to this beautiful protective machinery we have placed in their hands.

From Time Magazine Archive

All except one—that one lay in the plate of the man from whom I had cabbaged the lot.

From What Is Man? and Other Essays by Mark Twain

In an evil moment he "cabbaged" some cloth, was detected, tried, condemned, and sentenced to twenty months' imprisonment.

From Prisoner for Blasphemy by G. W. (George William) Foote

Third, against O'Brallaghan; the cause: impudence on various occasions, and slanderous reports relating to cabbaged cloth since the period of their dissolving all connection with each other.

From The Last of the Foresters Or, Humors on the Border; A story of the Old Virginia Frontier by John Esten Cooke

To have cabbaged at one time all the sail-cloth that was required would have risked discovery; they therefore appropriated small scraps each day, and sewed these neatly together until they had enough.

From The Battle and the Breeze by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne

And what a touching sight it is of a Saturday afternoon to see the poor, careworn clergymen gathered together in that vast reading—room cabbaging sermons for Sunday.

From Mark Twain's Speeches by Mark Twain

Does not this look very much like what we call "cabbaging?"

From Notes and Queries, Number 24, April 13, 1850 by Various

The next step I took was to order William Francis, John Thompson, Samuel Picket, and Joshua Peck to be taken into custody, on their return from cabbaging.

From An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island by John Hunter

Related Words

• sauerkraut