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
One woman in her 60s, Mary Kay Smith, was wearing an eggplant costume.
From Slate ● May 4, 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
There was always a steady supply of bitter melon, eggplant, gai lan and bok choy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025
She sliced eggplant, chili peppers, and onions in tiny, even cubes the way Mother liked them, instead of chopping them quickly into thick chunks the way she usually did.
From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins
"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
The tomatoes were great this year — the cherry tomatoes were unbelievable — and we had great eggplants, bell peppers and jalapeno peppers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2024
Right now, my favorite thing would be eggplants, with a little miso, served with ricotta, tomatoes and shio kombu.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2024
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.
