eggplant

American  

[eg-plant, -plahnt] / ˈɛgˌplænt, -ˌplɑnt /

noun

• eggplants
  plural

1. a plant, Solanum melongena esculentum, of the nightshade family, cultivated for its edible, dark-purple or occasionally white or yellow fruit.

2. the fruit of this plant used as a table vegetable.

3. a blackish purple color; aubergine.

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eggplant British  

/ ˈɛɡˌplɑːnt /

noun

1. a tropical Old World solanaceous plant, Solanum melongena, widely cultivated for its egg-shaped typically dark purple fruit

2. the fruit of this plant, which is cooked and eaten as a vegetable

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• eggplants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of eggplant

First recorded in 1760–70; egg ¹ + plant

Compare meaning

How does eggplant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• aubergine vs. eggplant

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eggplant eggplants

You can find many salads without lettuce as a main ingredient on the site, such as this eggplant purée with tomato salad or this summer medley of melon, mozzarella and prosciutto.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The Chef’s Garden Grilling Box takes care of the vegetables, with a rotating selection that might include asparagus, romaine, zucchini, eggplant or corn.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

Other menu highlights include garlic sauce eggplant, ribeye noodles and General Tso’s chicken.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 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

Fadi avoided the plate of mantu and chewed on a piece of tender grilled chicken, watching the American couple awkwardly dunk bread into their eggplant dip.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

"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 team experimented first with adding visual cues like googly eyes on irregular-looking eggplants, showing study participants pictures of normal or abnormal eggplants, either with or without googly eyes.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2024

These discoveries are helping scientists to better understand the resilience and evolutionary story of Solanaceae, or nightshades, a sprawling family of plants that includes tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, peppers, tobacco and petunias.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024

We learned this lesson the hard way when we inadvertently killed all of our baby eggplants.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2024

The street and open courtyard were filled with umbrella-covered stands and stalls, flaunting jade-colored cabbages, curled cucumbers, purple eggplants, and tangy oranges.

From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin