melon

American  

[mel-uhn] / ˈmɛl ən /

noun

1. the fruit of any of various plants of the gourd family, as the muskmelon or watermelon.

2. medium crimson or deep pink.

3. the visible upper portion of the head of a surfacing whale or dolphin, including the beak, eyes, and blowhole.

4. Informal.

   1. a large extra dividend, often in the form of stock, to be distributed to stockholders.

      Profits zoomed so in the last quarter that the corporation cut a nice melon.

   2. any windfall of money to be divided among specified participants.

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melon British  

/ ˈmɛlən /

noun

1. any of several varieties of two cucurbitaceous vines, cultivated for their edible fruit See muskmelon watermelon

2. the fruit of any of these plants, which has a hard rind and juicy flesh

3. slang to declare an abnormally high dividend to shareholders

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Etymology

Origin of melon

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin mēlōn- (stem of mēlō ), short for mēlopepō < Greek mēlopépōn apple-shaped melon, equivalent to mêlo ( n ) apple + pépōn pepo

Example Sentences

On a recent weekday, Gao, her husband, daughter and niece left with a cart full of snacks, including melon milk drinks and a Swiss roll cake.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

Quality sounds intuitively appealing to any shopper, from car-lot tire kickers to produce-aisle melon sniffers.

From Barron's • Dec. 26, 2025

There was always a steady supply of bitter melon, eggplant, gai lan and bok choy.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2025

Take the classic Italian combo of melon and cured meat: ripe slices paired with braseola or prosciutto.

From Salon • May 31, 2025

Min was inscribing lotus blossoms and peonies between the ribbed lines of one of the melon vases.

From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park

Related Words

• cantaloupe
• gourd
• papaya
• watermelon