pawpaw
Americannoun
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a tree, Asimina triloba, of the annona family, native to the eastern United States, having large, oblong leaves and purplish flowers.
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the fleshy, edible fruit of this tree.
noun
Etymology
Origin of pawpaw
First recorded in 1620–30; unexplained variant of papaye “papaya”; see papaya
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.
Finger limes, pomelos, pawpaw and sapote, to name a handful.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2025
He went from standard citrus, apricot and avocado to a more exotic collection, adding finger limes, valentine pummelos, jaboticaba, cherimoya and pawpaw.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2025
Kentucky State University established the only full-time dedicated pawpaw research program centered around developing the fruit as a commercial crop.
From Salon • Aug. 14, 2024
But those in the pawpaw community can't help but aim higher, including Pomper: "Many of us are kind of bitten with the pawpaw bug."
From Salon • Aug. 14, 2024
Then she flies past the rows of gangly bird of paradise, past the pawpaw tree with ripening fruit, and loses a sandal taking the three front steps in an inelegant leap.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
