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Synonyms

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.

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Our tactics continue to focus on deploying thermal drones, along with camera traps and humane traps aimed at tempting Samba out of hiding with favourite foods including melon."

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

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

From Barron's • Dec. 26, 2025

Set in Trinity, Texas, during a strike among migrant melon pickers, the tale unfolds through the shifting viewpoints of several figures.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

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

From Salon • May 31, 2025

Jeopardy The only sounds, teeth munching melon and strawberry from Mom’s fruit cocktail dessert and Alex Trebek’s annoying voice: This fourteen-time NBA all-star also played minor-league baseball for the Birmingham Barons.

From "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander

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.