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; 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
A recent scientific publication has come out noting that there is a relationship between the intake of cruciferous vegetables—a large group that includes everything from broccoli to bok choi—and a reduced risk of colon cancer.
From Slate • Sep. 5, 2025
This included 11 studies of soy isoflavones, three of cruciferous vegetables, two of green tea, three of lignans, and three of enterolactone, which is formed in the gut when lignans are digested.
From Science Daily • Jan. 10, 2024
Charlock is a most persistent cruciferous weed, but if sprayed when young with the solution named it is killed, the corn plants being uninjured.
From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg
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.
