inedible

American  

[in-ed-uh-buhl] / ɪnˈɛd ə bəl /

adjective

1. not edible; unfit to be eaten.

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inedible British  

/ ɪnˈɛdɪbəl /

adjective

1. not fit to be eaten; uneatable

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Other Word Forms

• inedibility noun

Etymology

Origin of inedible

First recorded in 1815–25; in- ³ + edible

Explanation

The adjective inedible is good for describing a food that cannot be eaten, like your grandmother's burnt toast, or an object that shouldn't be eaten, like your snow boots. Some things are literally inedible, like your dining room table or a cast iron skillet, while others are described as inedible in a more figurative way: "I can't stand cilantro — now this taco is totally inedible!" The word has been around since the early 1800s to mean "unfit to eat," combining the Latin prefix in, which means "not" or "the opposite," with edibilis, "eatable" in Late Latin.

Example Sentences

The trader said he lost $60,000 last month after a container he imported from Kenya was impounded at the Congolese border for several weeks, rendering milk, cheese and sausages inedible.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

The food was often inedible, and the water was discolored.

From Slate • Feb. 3, 2026

The mum-of-two first became aware that he liked to try and eat inedible items when he licked the Velcro in his tactile books as a baby.

From BBC • Nov. 1, 2025

The wife cooks comically inedible food; the daughters terrorize Jakob.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2025

The forest is full of many other plants deemed inedible.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond