grape

American  

[greyp] / greɪp /

noun

• grapes
  plural

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.

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grape British  

/ 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

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grape Idioms  

1. see sour grapes.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• grapeless
  adjective
• grapelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• grapes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of grape

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

Explanation

A grape is a small, sweet fruit that grows in clusters on a vine. Most grapes are either purple or green, and they make a delicious addition to a fruit salad. Though grapes naturally contain tiny seeds, many varieties of so-called "table grapes" are bred to be seedless, so you can pop one grape after another in your mouth. Dried grapes are known as raisins, and this versatile berry is used to make many other products, including jelly, juice, and wine. Experts believe the word grape comes from an Old French verb, graper, "catch with a hook" or "pick grapes off the vine."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grape grapes

Announced last week in a post on Instagram, the drink was described as a “clarified tonic” with coconut water, jasmine tea, raw honey, holy basil, anise hyssop, green cardamom, white grape juice and coconut milk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

Researchers then analyzed gene expression in participants' skin before and after grape consumption, both with and without exposure to low doses of UV radiation.

From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026

"Pollution is killing livestock farming and grape harvests, once the backbone of the local economy," he said.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

If you give one monkey a cucumber slice and you give another monkey a grape, the first monkey will throw the cucumber back at you—probably because you violated its sense of fairness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026

But we don’t know what kind of juice she likes, and you don’t want to bring grape when she loves apple.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds

BORDEAUX, France—For 700 years, Château Carbonnieux relied on rainwater to nourish its grapes, a tradition that preserved the vineyard’s connection to the local terroir.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Then temperatures rose to a record-breaking 108 degrees Fahrenheit in June, and co-owner Philibert Perrin noticed the leaves of his Cabernet Sauvignon grapes turning yellow and shriveling, an ominous sign.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

He said grapes are like any other Irish crop "everything really depends on the weather".

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

At the heart of the wine industry’s crisis is a basic supply and demand problem: too many grapes and not enough buyers, industry experts told The Times this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

So the God of the Vine was born of fire and nursed by rain, the hard burning heat that ripens the grapes and the water that keeps the plant alive.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton