lettuce
Americannoun
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lettuces
plural
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a cultivated plant, Lactuca sativa, occurring in many varieties and having succulent leaves used for salads.
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any species of Lactuca.
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Slang. U.S. dollar bills; greenbacks.
noun
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any of various plants of the genus Lactuca, esp L. sativa, which is cultivated in many varieties for its large edible leaves: family Asteraceae (composites)
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the leaves of any of these varieties, which are eaten in salads
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any of various plants that resemble true lettuce, such as lamb's lettuce and sea lettuce
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lettuce
1250–1300; 1925–30 lettuce for def. 3; Middle English letuse, apparently < Old French laitues, plural of laitue < Latin lactūca a lettuce, perhaps derivative of lac, stem lact- milk, with termination as in erūca rocket 2 (or by association with Greek galaktoûchos having milk)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
About three-fourths of the water taken from it flows to farmland, about 5 million acres of it, producing alfalfa for cattle as well as lettuce, broccoli and other crops.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
They cut lettuce and tomatoes every morning instead of the night before.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Produce supplier Taylor Farms is stopping iceberg lettuce sales from central Mexico between May 1 and Aug. 31, starting next year, after a widespread cyclospora outbreak sickened thousands in the U.S.,
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
“There is everything in the perfect bite,” Moore said of the vaunted marriage of ground beef, shredded cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and rich sour cream in a corn shell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
She ate carefully, taking pains not to let a single piece of lettuce or drop of sauce fall.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Millions of lettuces are set to be wasted as farmers are grappling with a record outbreak of aphids that has devastated the end of their growing season.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Nowadays in the early mornings, farmers — many of them descendants of Xochimilco’s original inhabitants — can be seen loading canoes with lettuces and flowers grown in the rich sediments dredged from the canals.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
I always have a ton of bell peppers, chiles and lettuces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2023
Also, please dry your lettuces throughly and completely!
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2023
‘King Darzin,’ he sniffled, ‘that wicked thief El-ahrairah has said he will steal your lettuces and he is coming to trick you and get into the garden.’
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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