cruciferous
Americanadjective
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bearing a cross.
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Botany. belonging to the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae), the mustard family of plants; brassicaceous.
Are you getting enough broccoli, cauliflower, and other cruciferous vegetables in your diet?
adjective
Etymology
Origin of cruciferous
From Late Latin crucifer + -ous; cruciferous def. 1 was first recorded in 1650–60; cruciferous def. 2 in 1850–55; see origin at crucifer, -ous
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.
There’s cabbage and brussels sprouts — cruciferous veggies that are divine pickled.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026
The broccoli rabe was turned into a kind of cruciferous pesto.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
The highest levels of veggie-munching were associated with a 17 percent reduction in colon cancer risk across 17 studies compared to eating no cruciferous vegetables at all.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2025
Investigators also looked into whether consuming soy, lignans, cruciferous vegetables and green tea, or their phytonutrients in the diet before or after breast cancer diagnosis made a difference.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 10, 2024
The nitrogen of this and other cruciferous plants serves to make them emit offensive stinks when they lie out of doors and rot.
From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by Fernie, William Thomas
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.
