grapefruit

American  

[greyp-froot] / ˈgreɪpˌfrut /

noun

grapefruits plural

1. a large, roundish, yellow-skinned, edible citrus fruit having a juicy, acid pulp.

2. the tropical or semitropical tree, Citrus paradisi, yielding this fruit.

---

grapefruit British  

/ ˈɡreɪpˌfruːt /

noun

1. a tropical or subtropical cultivated evergreen rutaceous tree, Citrus paradisi

2. the large round edible fruit of this tree, which has yellow rind and juicy slightly bitter pulp

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• grapefruits
  plural

Etymology

Origin of grapefruit

1805–15; grape + fruit, apparently from the resemblance of its clusters to those of grapes

Explanation

A grapefruit is a large citrus fruit that grows on a tree. Ripe grapefruits are very slightly sour, juicy, and delicious. The first grapefruits were an accident — they came from an inadvertent cross between an orange and a pomelo. Both of those species are native to Asia, but the grapefruit's accidental invention happened in Barbados some time in the 18th century. The name comes from the way the fruit clusters on the tree, close together like grapes, rather than its taste, which is a mixture of sweetness and acidity.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grapefruit grapefruits

The liqueur has a touch of sweetness that counters the tart grapefruit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Ono’s very first “Wish Tree” — a baby grapefruit tree planted in a wooden box — was shown in 1996 at Santa Monica’s Shoshana Wayne Gallery in Bergamot Station.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

We had a grapefruit tree and a plum tree, and a dirt yard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

And fruits, which range from varieties of pear to bright citruses like orange and grapefruit.

From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026

Her perfume, if that’s what it was, smelled like grapefruit and peppermint, fresh and clean.

From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth

Ayelet Kohn and Shachar Shnurman harvested the grapefruits this month - a defiant act of normality amid the burnt-out remains of their neighbours' homes.

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2024

And because he couldn’t afford a soccer ball, he learned to play on the streets using grapefruits or cloth stuffed with newspapers and bound with string.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2022

Have grapefruits gotten better, or has my palate simply grown?

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2021

Platt and Vasilenko spent the next few hours happily obliterating tin cans, grapefruits and watermelons.

From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2018

He wished for a whole basket of yellow pomelo fruits, sweeter than grapefruits, to eat by himself.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye