eggplant
Americannoun
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eggplants
plural
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a plant, Solanum melongena esculentum, of the nightshade family, cultivated for its edible, dark-purple or occasionally white or yellow fruit.
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the fruit of this plant used as a table vegetable.
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a blackish purple color; aubergine.
noun
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a tropical Old World solanaceous plant, Solanum melongena, widely cultivated for its egg-shaped typically dark purple fruit
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the fruit of this plant, which is cooked and eaten as a vegetable
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of eggplant
Compare meaning
How does eggplant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An eggplant is a large, purple-skinned vegetable that is especially delicious breaded, fried, and covered with cheese and red sauce. Eggplants are one of those foods that we think of as a vegetables but are officially considered fruits. While an eggplant isn't particularly nutrient-dense, its spongy texture has an amazing ability to absorb flavors and oils, making it fun to cook with. Your experience with eggplants may include the Mediterranean dip baba ghanoush or cheesy eggplant parmesan sandwiches. The name comes from less-common white varieties that resemble eggs.
Vocabulary lists containing eggplant
Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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Purple
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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:
Moments later, a military quadcopter flew in and hovered directly above Ahmed and a visiting reporter as they stood near the eggplant field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
Mary Kay Smith, who had been wearing the eggplant costume, said she wanted someone to tear the system down.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
To cope with the relentless cold, I’ve been living off frozen meals, namely Trader Joe’s cheese-filled eggplant pasta, and home-cooked slow-cooker chili, baked gnocchi and chicken noodle soup.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026
For about $20, you could enjoy a baked Idaho potato heaped with teriyaki beef at the taxidermy-adorned Pioneer Saloon; or green curry chicken and Taiwanese-style eggplant at Rickshaw.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
Good turnip greens, eggplant, okra by the bushel, all kind a gourds.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
A short distance away from Al-Louh, a group of farmers was harvesting eggplants even though they were still unripe, knowing they probably wouldn’t get another chance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
"It could see that I had tomatoes out, some cucumbers and eggplants laid out on the floor," Yuriy said.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The Lippman lab focuses on plants in the nightshade family, which includes staple crops like tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes, along with lesser-known species such as goldenberries.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 11, 2026
Somewhere between the eggplants and the onions, she disappeared behind a door and emerged with a perfect ruby orb.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2025
The rest of our friends helped by chopping eggplants, onions, meat, and the like in the kitchen.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
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.
