custard apple

American  

noun

1. any of several trees of the genus Annona, as the cherimoya.

2. any of several other trees, as the pawpaw, Asimina triloba, bearing fruit with soft, edible pulp.

3. the fruit of any of these trees.

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custard apple British  

noun

1. a West Indian tree, Annona reticulata: family Annonaceae

2. the large heart-shaped fruit of this tree, which has a fleshy edible pulp

3. any of several related trees or fruits, esp the papaw and sweetsop

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Etymology

Origin of custard apple

First recorded in 1650–60

Example Sentences

The vast custard apple forest that girded the lake’s southern shore was torched.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 2, 2019

Ripe cherimoya, also known as custard apple, has the miraculous ability to taste like bananas, pears, pineapples and about six other, equally delicious fruits at the same time.

From New York Times • Nov. 12, 2019

“You can’t put Che down,” he said, walking among the ripe citrus, avocado and custard apple trees that now fill the ravine where the Argentinian revolutionary fought his last battle.

From The Guardian • Oct. 5, 2017

To get at the beans you first have to crack open the thick husk of the cocoa pod, releasing a pulp that has an intense tropical flavour that's halfway between lemonade and a custard apple.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2017

The doctor left with him a number of plants, among which were orange, cashew, custard, apple, and fig-trees, with coffee, acacias, and papaws, which he had brought from Loanda.

From Great African Travellers From Mungo Park to Livingstone and Stanley by Kingston, William Henry Giles