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
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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
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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:
The second course featured sesame-crusted sea bass with baby bok choy and roasted garden eggplant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
For their main course they dined on a sesame-crusted sea bass, braised bok choy and roasted eggplant.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
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
There was the little garden where I brought water to the neat rows of eggplant and okra.
From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan
My last meal would be: a Mediterranean- and Turkish-infused dish, like meatballs with eggplants and artichokes in good olive oil and some rice on the side.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 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
Depending on the season, fields are filled with a variety of greens, cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes and peppers, while herbs like basil, black sage, rosemary and marjoram perfume the gardens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
On the runway, tomatoes joined eggplants, zucchinis, hot peppers and Farfalle pasta as big, bold prints in Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear Collection.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2025
“I thought the eggplants was fine,” Mr. Robichaux said.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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