Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

fennel

American  
[fen-l] / ˈfɛn l /

noun

  1. a plant, Foeniculum vulgare, of the parsley family, having feathery leaves and umbels of small, yellow flowers.

  2. Also fennel seed the aromatic fruits of Foeniculum vulgare, used in cooking and medicine.

  3. any of various plants more or less similar to Foeniculum vulgare, such as Ferula communis giant fennel, a tall, ornamental plant.

fennel British  
/ ˈfɛnəl /

noun

  1. a strong-smelling yellow-flowered umbelliferous plant, Foeniculum vulgare , whose seeds and feathery leaves are used to season and flavour food See also finocchio

  2. another name for mayweed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fennel

First recorded before 900; Middle English fenel, Old English fenol, variant of finu ( g ) l from unattested Vulgar Latin fenuclum, for Latin fēniculum, faeniculum, equivalent to faeni- (combining form of faenum “hay”) + -culum -cle 1

Vocabulary lists containing fennel

2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

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.

I usually get a bunch of salads and the crab and fennel soup.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026

And after a local screwpine sorbet palate cleanser, Maldivian chefs slice up Wagyu tenderloin alongside baby leeks, eggplant, fennel pollen and coconut jus.

From Salon • Dec. 27, 2025

When I finally nailed a roast chicken — buttered and oiled, stuffed with lemon wedges and hunks of onion and fennel — I felt like a goddess.

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2025

The packaging for Molecule pills often lists "natural ingredients" such as dandelion root and fennel seed extract.

From BBC • Nov. 1, 2025

There was roasted lamb, new potatoes, peas with leeks and fennel; a rich and almost maddeningly delicious bottle of Château Latour.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

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.