okra
Americannoun
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a shrub, Abelmoschus esculentus, of the mallow family, bearing beaked pods.
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the pods, used in soups, stews, etc.
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a dish made with the pods.
noun
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Also called: ladies' fingers. an annual malvaceous plant, Hibiscus esculentus, of the Old World tropics, with yellow-and-red flowers and edible oblong sticky green pods
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the pod of this plant, eaten in soups, stews, etc See also gumbo
Etymology
Origin of okra
First recorded in 1670–80; said to be of West African origin, though precise source unknown; compare Igbo ókùrù okra
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.
At a busy Beirut centre, migrant volunteers stirred pots of okra soup and shaped balls of the African staple fufu, keeping food coming for those caught between the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
Thornton made salmon and fried okra with spicy hummus with Hunter Fieri.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026
Atlanta-based entrepreneur Tamara Lucas recently started her own garden in her backyard to keep a lid on rising costs, growing okra, kale and broccoli to help feed her two teenage boys.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
"We would be growing tomatoes, potatoes, cabbages and okra and then – at the end of the season – they would push it all into a big hole and bury it," he added.
From BBC ● May 17, 2025
Lots of okra and dried beans, and, since it was September, berries of every kind.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
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.
