pineapple

American  

[pahy-nap-uhl] / ˈpaɪˌnæp əl /

noun

• pineapples
  plural

1. the edible, juicy, collective fruit of a tropical, bromeliaceous plant, Ananas comosus, that develops from a spike or head of flowers and is surmounted by a crown of leaves.

2. the plant itself, having a short stem and rigid, spiny-margined, recurved leaves.

3. Military Slang. a fragmentation hand grenade.

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pineapple British  

/ ˈpaɪnˌæpəl /

noun

1. a tropical American bromeliaceous plant, Ananas comosus, cultivated in the tropics for its large fleshy edible fruit

2. the fruit of this plant, consisting of an inflorescence clustered around a fleshy axis and surmounted by a tuft of leaves

3. slang military a hand grenade

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pineapples
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pineapple

1350–1400 for earlier sense; 1655–65 pineapple for def. 1; Middle English pinappel pine cone; see pine ¹, apple

Explanation

A pineapple is a sweet tropical fruit with a tough leathery skin and spiky leaves on top. Pineapple is excellent, whether eaten as a snack, in a sweet dessert, in savory dishes like fried rice, or even on pizza. The word pineapple was first used to mean "pine cone," and the fruit was given this name because of its (slight) resemblance to a large pine cone. Pineapples are more commonly called ananas in other parts of the world, from the Tupi nanas, or "excellent fruit." Images of pineapples are commonly used to represent hospitality.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pineapple pineapples

My career was insulted, and I was mocked for fumbling around while attempting to juice a pineapple with a woefully inadequate kitchen utensil.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the islands depended first on sugar plantations and then the pineapple industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Grab a pineapple bun stuffed with ham and butter, a corned beef egg tart, a sourdough one, even pistachio.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

Good options include pineapple, oranges, mango, or yogurt.

From Science Daily ● May 24, 2026

Dad tilts his head to the side, and I hold up Pierre the pineapple.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

In 2021, China banned the import of Taiwanese pineapples, causing major disruption to farmers' livelihoods.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

A question for luxury brands and their shareholders now is whether handbags are more like expensive property or pineapples.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

They also exempted goods that can’t be made in size in the U.S., such as beef, pineapples, coffee, certain minerals, and aircraft parts.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

Bananas, mangoes, pineapples and off-season berries and vegetables are all exposed to higher input costs, Lempert added, and consumers could pay between 5% and 20% more by the fall, depending on produce origin.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 21, 2026

‘In this sloshflunking Giant Country, happy eats like pineapples and pigwinkles is simply not growing. Nothing is growing except for one extremely icky-poo vegetable. It is called the snozzcumber.’

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl

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