cucumber
Americannoun
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a creeping plant, Cucumis sativus, of the gourd family, occurring in many cultivated forms.
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the edible, fleshy fruit of this plant, of a cylindrical shape with rounded ends and having a green, warty skin.
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any of various allied or similar plants.
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the fruit of any such plant.
noun
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a creeping cucurbitaceous plant, Cucumis sativus, cultivated in many forms for its edible fruit Compare squirting cucumber
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the cylindrical fruit of this plant, which has hard thin green rind and white crisp flesh
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any of various similar or related plants or their fruits
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very calm; self-possessed
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cucumber
1350–1400; Middle English cucumbre < Anglo-French, Old French co ( u ) combre < Latin cucumer-, stem of cucumis; replacing Middle English, Old English cucumer < Latin, as above
Explanation
A cucumber plant is a vine that grows the long, green gourds used to make pickles. Cucumbers are also commonly sliced and added to salads. You may think of cucumbers as vegetables, but they are actually fruits, belonging to the melon family. Raw cucumbers are slightly crunchy and make a great addition to salads and sandwiches, but their flesh is too delicate for cooking. The phrase "cool as a cucumber," or calmly unruffled, comes from the plant's tendency to remain cool in the garden even on a hot day. Before the 18th century, they were known as cowcumbers.
Vocabulary lists containing cucumber
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:
“I’m feeling cool as a cucumber in those moments,” Nolan recalled in a recent interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Blended with cream cheese and cucumber, it becomes a sandwich spread with the flavor profile of a carefully composed herb dressing and the effort level of opening a packet.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
It’s awesome because they rub you from head to toe with body oil, then they wash your hair and give you a cucumber and yogurt mask.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
"Now we get a loaf of bread and a cucumber," they calculated, noting that a cucumber costs 100 points and a seeded bloomer costs 150.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
He had on his gardening clothes—old trousers, shirtsleeves rolled up past the elbow—and in the wheelbarrow were tomato plants and cucumber, flats of strawberry and sunflower and scarlet geranium.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Significant numbers of sea cucumbers - which can bury themselves under the sand to escape fishing gear - have been observed in the recovery zone.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
He grows about 60 different crops, including herbs such as rosemary and thyme, heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers, and pick-your-own strawberries and flowers.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
That’s bad news for his company, Clovergrass Produce, and its crop of soybeans, cucumbers, peanuts and corn plus his herd of beef cattle.
From Salon ● May 15, 2026
Gen Z’s obsession with cucumbers was fueled by Logan Moffitt, 25, a content creator in Ottawa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
How they had frothed at the mouth and their eyes had turned as green as cucumbers.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
