cauliflower
Americannoun
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cauliflowers
plural
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a form of cultivated plant, Brassica oleracea botrytis, of the mustard family, whose inflorescence forms a compact, usually whitish head.
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this head, used as a vegetable.
noun
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a variety of cabbage, Brassica oleracea botrytis, having a large edible head of crowded white flowers on a very short thick stem
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the flower head of this plant, used as a vegetable
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cauliflower
1590–1600; < Latin cauli ( s ) cole + flower; replacing coleflorie < Italian ca ( v ) olfiore, equivalent to cavol cole + fiore < Latin flōri- (stem of flōs ) flower
Explanation
Cauliflower is a distinctive white vegetable that's related to broccoli and cabbage. Many Indian dishes include cauliflower. A head of cauliflower is made up of many dense, white, flower-like clusters, and occasionally cauliflower comes in varieties that are slightly purple or green. Cauliflower can be eaten raw, steamed, roasted, grilled or sauteed. In the 1590s, it was originally called cole florye, from the Italian cavoli fiori, "flowered cabbage."
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:
Sumac guinea foul with za’atar beetroot and jeweled cauliflower rice.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
"They like green beans but not by themselves, so we just fry them in a little bit of butter and dip in breadcrumbs. The same with cauliflower and lots of other vegetables," she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The food is more lounge-like with build-your-own bowls, buffalo cauliflower, salad fixin’s and a couple of desserts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
In 2025, prices for cauliflower “fluctuated by roughly 230%, the largest shift of any ingredient tracked,” Food & Wine reported, citing data from MarginEdge, a restaurant management software company.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
Someone was already frying holani; steam rose from teacups and a pot of cauliflower aush.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
"Six and a half thousand cauliflowers here, which have just basically cooked," he explained.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
If he was to irrigate all his crops to keep them alive, the costs would be so high his cauliflowers, spuds and carrots would be far pricier than supermarket alternatives.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Don’t count these cauliflowers before they hatch, though.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2023
Chicks ran through small farms flush with cauliflowers and tomatoes.
From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2022
‘We don’t have to eat snozzcumbers. In the fields around our village there are all sorts of lovely vegetables like cauliflowers and carrots. Why don’t you get some of those next time you go visiting?’
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
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.
