fruit

[ froot ]

See synonyms for: fruit fruited fruiting fruits on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural fruits, (especially collectively) fruit.

any product of plant growth useful to humans or animals.
the developed ovary of a seed plant with its contents and accessory parts, as the pea pod, nut, tomato, or pineapple.

the edible part of a plant developed from a flower, with any accessory tissues, as the peach, mulberry, or banana.
the spores and accessory organs of ferns, mosses, fungi, algae, or lichen.
anything produced or accruing; product, result, or effect; return or profit: the fruits of one's labors.
Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a gay man.

verb (used with or without object)

to bear or cause to bear fruit: a tree that fruits in late summer; careful pruning that sometimes fruits a tree.

Origin of fruit

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

Other words from fruit

fruit·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fruit in a sentence

I try to eat less processed food, like whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nothing over-processed.
Anastasia Ashley, Surfer-Cum-Model, Rides The Viral Internet Wave | James Joiner | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile younger, lighter colors evoke citrus and tree fruits, candy sugars and vanilla toffee.
Why Natural Color Is So Crucial To Understanding A Whisky’s Flavors | | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Yet Lohse is confident that the reader will take his actions as the fruits of selfless moral courage.
An Ivy League Frat Boy’s Shallow Repentance | Stefan Beck | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They lived a simple life of growing fruits, vegetables, and lots of olive trees.
Do Palestinians Really Exist? | Dean Obeidallah | July 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Try drinking your fruits and veggies with these healthy (and tasty) green smoothie recipes.
10 Ways to Stay Hydrated (That Aren’t Water) | DailyBurn | July 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Flowers, fruits, and insects were her favorite subjects, and were painted with rare delicacy.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. | Clara Erskine Clement
Is it true that whenever we are about to do an ill or unjust deed a shadow of the fruits it will bring comes over us as a warning?
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
The acid is extracted from the juice of the citron, the lime, and the lemon, fruits grown in Sicily and the West Indies.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruits of them.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
They soon reached a small island where ripe fruits were abundant, and where they could provide fresh supplies for the ships.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton Wade

British Dictionary definitions for fruit

fruit

/ (fruːt) /

noun

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
any fleshy part of a plant, other than the above structure, that supports the seeds and is edible, such as the strawberry

the specialized spore-producing structure of plants that do not bear seeds
any plant product useful to man, including grain, vegetables, etc
(often plural) the result or consequence of an action or effort
British old-fashioned, slang chap; fellow: used as a term of address
slang, mainly British a person considered to be eccentric or insane
slang, mainly US and Canadian a male homosexual
archaic offspring of man or animals; progeny

verb

to bear or cause to bear fruit

Origin of fruit

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

Derived forms of fruit

fruitlike, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for fruit

fruit

[ frōōt ]

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.♦ Fruits that consist of ripened ovaries alone, such as the tomato and pea pod, are called true fruits. ♦ 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. See also aggregate fruit multiple fruit simple fruit. See Note at berry.

usage For fruit

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.

Cultural definitions for fruit

fruit

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.

Other Idioms and Phrases with fruit

fruit

see bear fruit; forbidden fruit.

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