grape

American  

[grayp] / 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

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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

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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

The Delano strike escalated into a national table grape boycott in 1968.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

She formed farmworker ranch committees and moved to the East Coast for months to promote the union’s national grape boycott.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Grapes: In the mid-1800s a horticulturist in Massachusetts invented the perfect grape, to much fanfare.

From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2026

Fink was in California recently amid the grape harvest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

The god vaporized in a cloud of mist that smelled faintly of grape juice.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

The union later estimated that 17 million Americans stopped buying grapes during the boycott, as solidarity grew between urban and suburban Americans—often homemakers—and the men and women picking their food up to 3,000 miles away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

The appellation Champagne includes 319 localities to the east of Paris where the soil and climatic conditions were suited to producing the three varieties of grapes used in making the sparkling wine.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

McFARLAND, Calif. — A white SUV drives past fields of grapes and nut trees and pulls to a stop on the dirt shoulder across the highway from a strange tableau:

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Heavy rains and unseasonable warm spells earlier in the growing season meant many grapes didn’t fully develop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

She saw Louisiana’s grandmother standing at the food table with a gigantic bunch of green grapes in her hand.

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo

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