coconut

[ koh-kuh-nuht, -nuht ]
See synonyms for coconut on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the large, hard-shelled seed of the coconut palm, lined with a white edible meat, and containing a milky liquid.

  2. the meat of the coconut, often shredded and used in cooking, as a flavoring, and as a dessert topping.

  1. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a person of color, especially a person of Latin American or South Asian origin or descent, who is regarded as having adopted the attitudes, values, and behavior thought to be characteristic of middle-class white society, at the expense of their ethnic heritage.: Compare Oreo.

Origin of coconut

1
First recorded in 1605–15; coco + nut
  • Sometimes co·coa·nut .

Words Nearby coconut

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use coconut in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for coconut

coconut

cocoanut

/ (ˈkəʊkəˌnʌt) /


noun
  1. the fruit of the coconut palm, consisting of a thick fibrous oval husk inside which is a thin hard shell enclosing edible white meat. The hollow centre is filled with a milky fluid (coconut milk)

    • the meat of the coconut, often shredded and used in cakes, curries, etc

    • (as modifier): coconut cake

  1. slang, derogatory a black or Asian person who conforms to white culture at the expense of his or her ancestral culture, the idea being that, like a coconut, he or she is dark on the outside and white on the inside

Origin of coconut

1
C18: see coco

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012