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• fig
  fig

  noun

  any tree or shrub belonging to the genus Ficus, of the mulberry family, especially a small tree, F. carica, native to southwestern Asia, bearing a turbinate or pear-shaped fruit that is eaten fresh, preserved, or dried.
• fig.
  fig.

  abbreviation

  figurative.

fig

¹ American  

[fig] / fɪg /

noun

1. any tree or shrub belonging to the genus Ficus, of the mulberry family, especially a small tree, F. carica, native to southwestern Asia, bearing a turbinate or pear-shaped fruit that is eaten fresh, preserved, or dried.

2. the fruit of such a tree or shrub, or of any related species.

3. any of various plants having a fruit somewhat resembling this.

4. a contemptibly trifling or worthless amount; the least bit.

   His help wasn't worth a fig.

5. a gesture of contempt.

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fig ² American  

[fig] / fɪg /

noun

1. dress or array.

   to appear at a party in full fig.

2. condition.

   to feel in fine fig.

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fig. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. figurative.

2. figuratively.

3. figure; figures.

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fig ¹ British  

/ fɪɡ /

noun

1. any moraceous tree or shrub of the tropical and subtropical genus Ficus , in which the flowers are borne inside a pear-shaped receptacle

2. the fruit of any of these trees, esp of F. carica , which develops from the receptacle and has sweet flesh containing numerous seedlike structures

3. any of various plants or trees having a fruit similar to this

4. a succulent plant, Mesembryanthemum edule , of southern Africa, having a capsular fruit containing edible pulp: family Aizoaceae

5. (used with a negative) something of negligible value; jot

   I don't care a fig for your opinion

6. Also: feg.  dialect a piece or segment from an orange

7. Also called: fico.  an insulting gesture made with the thumb between the first two fingers or under the upper teeth

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fig ² British  

/ fɪɡ /

verb

1. to dress (up) or rig (out)

2. to administer stimulating drugs to (a horse)

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noun

1. dress, appearance, or array (esp in the phrase in full fig )

2. physical condition or form

   in bad fig

fig. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. figurative(ly)

2. figure

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fig Idioms  

1. see under not give a damn.

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Etymology

Origin of fig¹

1175–1225; Middle English fige < Old French < Old Provençal figa < Vulgar Latin *fīca, for Latin fīcus

Origin of fig²

1685–95; earlier feague to liven, whip up < German fegen to furbish, sweep, clean; akin to fair ¹

Explanation

A fig is a flowering tree that grows in warm climates. The fruit that grows on a fig is also called a fig. The fig, or fig tree, is happiest in dry, sunny climates like those in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region. The figs that grow on these trees is very sweet, with a green skin that ripens to a purple, brown, or yellowish color. An interesting quirk of the fig is that it needs a specific type of wasp for pollination in order to produce seeds. The Latin root of fig is ficus.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fig fig.

You’ll never look at fig leaves the same way after reading this hilarious, whipsmart and sometimes painful novel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Although his canvases typically sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, when he completed a large mural for the Palestinian Museum, his requested fee was only a fig tree to be planted in the garden.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

The backyard includes tiger fig trees, apple trees, and other edible plantings surrounding a swimming pool designed for year-round Southern California living.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Add a dollop or two of fig jam.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

Ever since then, I couldn’t stop thinking that I might be eating dead wasps when I ate a fig.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

“It’s not granola. It’s fig. Do you want me to throw up?”

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

“I don’t have just one fig. I have a whole figment.”

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

“There! Now I have made you solemn again. I should put a curb on my tongue. Here, take the fig. That should cheer you.”

From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Rum, however, was laid in; and all such seeds and plants procured as were thought likely to flourish on the coast of New South Wales, particularly coffee, indigo, cotton, and the cochineal fig.*

From The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay With an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island (1789) by Arthur Phillip

See also Castanet dance by Myron, fig. 63a.

From The Dance (by An Antiquary) Historic Illustrations of Dancing from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D. by Anonymous