fruit

[ froot ]

noun

, plural fruits, (especially collectively) fruit.

1. any product of plant growth useful to humans or animals.
2. the developed ovary of a seed plant with its contents and accessory parts, as the pea pod, nut, tomato, or pineapple.
3. the edible part of a plant developed from a flower, with any accessory tissues, as the peach, mulberry, or banana.
4. the spores and accessory organs of ferns, mosses, fungi, algae, or lichen.
5. anything produced or accruing; product, result, or effect; return or profit:

   the fruits of one's labors.

6. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a gay man.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to bear or cause to bear fruit:

   a tree that fruits in late summer; careful pruning that sometimes fruits a tree.

fruit

/ fruːt /

noun

1. botany the ripened ovary of a flowering plant, containing one or more seeds. It may be dry, as in the poppy, or fleshy, as in the peach
2. any fleshy part of a plant, other than the above structure, that supports the seeds and is edible, such as the strawberry
3. the specialized spore-producing structure of plants that do not bear seeds
4. any plant product useful to man, including grain, vegetables, etc
5. often plural the result or consequence of an action or effort
6. old-fashioned.
   chap; fellow: used as a term of address
7. slang.
   a person considered to be eccentric or insane
8. slang.
   a male homosexual
9. archaic.
   offspring of man or animals; progeny

verb

1. to bear or cause to bear fruit

fruit

/ fro̅o̅t /

1. The ripened ovary of a flowering plant that contains the seeds, sometimes fused with other parts of the plant. Fruits can be dry or fleshy. Berries, nuts, grains, pods, and drupes are fruits.
2. ◆ Fruits that consist of ripened ovaries alone, such as the tomato and pea pod, are called true fruits.
3. ◆ Fruits that consist of ripened ovaries and other parts such as the receptacle or bracts, as in the apple, are called accessory fruits or false fruits.
4. See also aggregate fruitSee Note at berry

fruit

1. In botany , the part of a seed-bearing plant that contains the fertilized seeds capable of generating a new plant ( see fertilization ). Fruit develops from the female part of the plant. Apples, peaches, tomatoes, and many other familiar foods are fruits.

Derived Forms

• ˈfruitˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• fruit·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fruit¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin frūctus “enjoyment, profit, fruit,” equivalent to frūg-, variant stem of fruī “to enjoy the produce of” + -tus suffix of verbal action

Word History and Origins

Origin of fruit¹

C12: from Old French, from Latin frūctus enjoyment, profit, fruit, from frūī to enjoy

Usage

To most of us, a fruit is a plant part that is eaten as a dessert or snack because it is sweet, but to a botanist a fruit is a mature ovary of a plant, and as such it may or may not taste sweet. All species of flowering plants produce fruits that contain seeds. A peach, for example, contains a pit that can grow into a new peach tree, while the seeds known as peas can grow into another pea vine. To a botanist, apples, peaches, peppers, tomatoes, pea pods, cucumbers, and winged maple seeds are all fruits. A vegetable is simply part of a plant that is grown primarily for food. Thus, the leaf of spinach, the root of a carrot, the flower of broccoli, and the stalk of celery are all vegetables. In everyday, nonscientific speech we make the distinction between sweet plant parts (fruits) and nonsweet plant parts (vegetables). This is why we speak of peppers and cucumbers and squash—all fruits in the eyes of a botanist—as vegetables.

Idioms and Phrases

see bear fruit ; forbidden fruit .

Example Sentences

Sugars and starches are found in fruits, bread, potatoes and vegetables.

From Science News For Students

Probably the lowest hanging fruit in the search world is simply paying attention to what it is that search engines are looking for and focussing on delivering there.

From Search Engine Watch

More than half of the fruits, vegetables and nuts sold in the United States are grown here, often using pesticides.

From Science News For Students

Berni bred new fruit flies and built much bigger agar arenas to run much longer tracking experiments.

From Quanta Magazine

In the end, build a huge and healthy link profile around your low-hanging fruits.

From Search Engine Watch

The tasteless bread was transformed into a sweet cake that included ingredients, such as dried fruit and marzipan.

From The Daily Beast

Spanish oak, which has an open grain and high levels of tannin, gives you dried fruit, spice, and even chocolate flavors.

From The Daily Beast

You may just enjoy the rich, smooth fruit of their labor that little bit more.

From The Daily Beast

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down.

From The Daily Beast

It's a bright, drinkable IPA made with dry American hops giving the nose hints of mango and passion fruit.

From The Daily Beast

Fruit-trees are clearly too scarce, though Cherries in abundance were offered for sale as we passed.

From Project Gutenberg

In the community her father was the wealthiest man, having made his fortune in the growing of potatoes and fruit.

From Project Gutenberg

The natives of Guiana use a tube or pipe not unlike a cheroot, made from the rind of the fruit of a species of palm.

From Project Gutenberg

Every detail of this canvas is perfect, because every detail is true, drawn straight from life, the fruit of minute observation.

From Project Gutenberg

A part of the square is walled off and employed as a market for fish, fruit, vegetables, and poultry.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• berry
• crop
• grain
• nut
• produce
• product