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
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:
In summer, mine is a pan of roasted red onion, red pepper, squash and eggplant, marinated while warm in olive oil, herbs and a splash of red wine vinegar.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 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
At the beginning of the summer, I started roasting trays of vegetables — squash, eggplant, red onions, bell peppers — with nothing more than olive oil, salt and pepper.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 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
I helped Papi string colored lights across the yard, and we decorated an eggplant bush with crêpe paper flowers and cutout figures.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
"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
It's a family that also includes some friendly crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplants.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2024
I embroidered vegetable stalls with purple eggplants and green melons.
From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan
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.
