loofah
Americannoun
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Also called rag gourd. Also called dishcloth gourd.
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any of several tropical vines of the genus Luffa, of the gourd family, bearing large, elongated fruit.
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the fruit of such a vine.
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Also called vegetable sponge. the dried, fibrous interior of this fruit, used as a sponge.
noun
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the fibrous interior of the fruit of the dishcloth gourd, which is dried, bleached, and used as a bath sponge or for scrubbing
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another name for dishcloth gourd
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of loofah
First recorded in 1860–65; from New Latin Luffa the genus, from Arabic lūf
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:
“A lot of people reacted like it was quite an aggressive loofah shower of emotion. It was good for them, but it hurt!”
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2022
Vellabox's high-quality candles are a great, affordable gesture that come in an array of luxury and seasonal scents, along with hand lotion, a loofah, and other surprise gifts.
From The Verge ● Nov. 15, 2021
“If the loofah doesn’t dry completely, the moist environment invites bacterial growth,” she adds.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 9, 2020
He enumerates some pleasures of life on the outside — sleeping on comfortable sheets, soaping up a loofah sponge in the shower.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2020
He scrubbed and scrubbed with the loofah pod until the top layer of skin seemed worn away.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
Because they facilitate rapid bacteria growth, shower loofahs should be replaced every three months, or “more frequently if you’re not invested in rinsing them after every use,” Berliet says.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 9, 2020
These sturdy suction-cup hooks stick directly onto tile or glass, giving you a place to hang damp loofahs, swimsuits, or back brushes.
From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2019
Body lotions, moustache waxes, exfoliating scrubs, mesh shower loofahs.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 17, 2018
Nowadays not only does Guess pick kudzu for soap, she grows her own luffas ? the plants used to make natural loofahs for bathing.
From Washington Times ● May 13, 2018
Mixed with dramatic inhalations and scratching noises made with loofahs, they created a sound world painfully innocent and fragile.
From New York Times ● Apr. 16, 2015
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
