pineapple

[ pahy-nap-uhl ]

noun

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.

pineapple

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pineapple¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pineapple¹

C14 pinappel pine cone; C17: applied to the fruit because of its appearance

Example Sentences

Costa Rica, which produces half of all the pineapples traded on the planet as well as other tropical fruit, now uses more pesticides per hectare of agricultural land than any other country.

From Science Magazine

Be sure to try the tender, flavorful Alentejo pork and pineapple skewer with cilantro, which delivers a huge flavor punch.

From Salon

Student Julian Garcia, 16, holds up a jar containing the top of a pineapple that will eventually be planted on campus. to grow into an edible pineapple.

From Los Angeles Times

On its official TikTok account, the supermarket posted a pineapple with the caption: “The pineapple on the shelf of Mercadona waiting for you to get a date.”

From BBC

Here, they planted a drought-resistant mix of California dune grass, mondo grass and poppies alongside the former owners’ birds of paradise, pink camellias and pineapple guava tree.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ammunition
• bomb
• booby trap
• detonator
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• mine
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• munition
• powder