papaya
Americannoun
-
the large, yellow, melonlike fruit of a tropical American shrub or small tree, Carica papaya, eaten raw or cooked.
-
the tree itself.
noun
-
a Caribbean evergreen tree, Carica papaya, with a crown of large dissected leaves and large green hanging fruit: family Caricaceae
-
the fruit of this tree, having a yellow or reddish orange sweet edible pulp and small black seeds
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of papaya
1760–70; < Spanish < Carib (Hispaniola)
Explanation
A papaya is a sweet tropical fruit with small, black seeds at the center. A papaya and banana smoothie makes a delicious and healthy breakfast. Most people eat papayas raw when the fruit is soft and ripe, although some find the smell of a perfectly ripe papaya to be terrible. Many Southeast Asian and South American cuisines include raw and cooked papaya, as well as green papaya and even the leaves of the papaya tree. Papayas are also called pawpaws, which gets a bit confusing since there's a totally different North American fruit also called a pawpaw.
Vocabulary lists containing papaya
Orange
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
South America - Middle School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
South America - Introductory
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
A few kilometres from Salah's devastated fields, Muhummad Mohamad Ismail, 45, tends with great care to his verdant orange and papaya trees.
From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026
I always order chicken sate and the green papaya salad.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026
U.S. and Cook Islands government news releases showed him in a suit picking at pieces of pineapple and papaya as he sat opposite a group of diplomats in Hawaiian-style shirts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025
His cooks minced the meat with papaya, saffron and spices and made it so fine and silky that it needed no chewing.
From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025
But in the shade of the papaya trees the soil was dark brown, with the moist, friable feel that gardeners seek.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
