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

In 1982, Il Yeon Kwon, a Korean immigrant, realized that New Yorkers needed a reliable source for napa cabbage, the essential ingredient in kimchi, and opened a small grocery store in Queens.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

On a recent morning, Nones took photos for a cookbook, shooting portraits of residents who submitted recipes for Romanian stuffed cabbage and gumbo, coaching them from his chair.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

"Genetic diversity is a resource for us too as humans, especially the wild relatives of crops. We've got quite a few in Wales, like sea radish, sea carrot, sea cabbage," said Kevin.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

I was reading about how New Orleans gets down at the St. Pat’s parade and did you know they throw onions and cabbage at people?

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

For a moment some old, flickering, here-and-gone feeling stirred in the General’s memory—the smell of wet cabbage leaves in a cottage garden, the sense of some easy-going, kindly place, long forgotten and lost.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

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

From Time Magazine Archive

Bacon treats of the instrument in his “Novum Organum;” from which Newton cabbaged his ideas in his “Principia,” in the most unprincipled manner.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, August 14, 1841 by Various

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 Twain, Mark

"We cabbaged them; it was the best we could do," said Egan.

From The Mormon Menace The Confessions of John Doyle Lee, Danite by Lewis, Alfred Henry

They run out of all they cabbaged here perty quick.

From Summerfield or, Life on a Farm by Lee, Day Kellogg

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 Hunter, John

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

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

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 Twain, Mark

Related Words

• sauerkraut