grape

[greyp]

noun

1. the edible, pulpy, smooth-skinned berry or fruit that grows in clusters on vines of the genus Vitis, and from which wine is made.

2. any vine bearing this fruit.

3. a dull, dark, purplish-red color.

4. (used with a singular verb),  grapes,

   1. tuberculosis occurring in cattle, characterized by the internal formation of grapelike clusters, especially in the lungs.

   2. tuberculosis occurring in horses, characterized by grapelike clusters on the fetlocks.

5. grapeshot.

6. the grape, wine.

grape

/ ɡreɪp /

noun

1. the fruit of the grapevine, which has a purple or green skin and sweet flesh: eaten raw, dried to make raisins, currants, or sultanas, or used for making wine

2. any of various plants that bear grapelike fruit, such as the Oregon grape

3. See grapevine

4. an informal term for wine

5. See grapeshot

Other Word Forms

• grapelike adjective
• grapeless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of grape¹

1200–50; Middle English < Old French, variant of crape cluster of fruit or flowers, originally hook (for pruning vines) < Germanic; compare German Krapf hook and grapple ( def. ), grapnel

Word History and Origins

Origin of grape¹

C13: from Old French grape bunch of grapes, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German krāpfo; related to _cramp ², _grapple

Idioms and Phrases

see sour grapes.

Example Sentences

More than 70 percent of those exports, worth $1.4 billion, are perishable farm goods such as figs, pistachios, grapes and pomegranates.

Read more on Barron's

Although the technology is constantly improving, the alcohol-removal process is seen by many to erase fragile grape aromas, while the alcohol is also viewed as a foundational flavour.

Read more on Barron's

They share the night and part ways in the a.m.—only to discover, quite awkwardly, that Henri is the heir to the Cassell grapes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Lady Constance spit out the word “poor” as if it were the seed of a rotten grape.

Read more on Literature

Michael shrank to the size of a grape.

Read more on Literature