pineapple
Americannoun
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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.
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the plant itself, having a short stem and rigid, spiny-margined, recurved leaves.
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Military Slang. a fragmentation hand grenade.
noun
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a tropical American bromeliaceous plant, Ananas comosus, cultivated in the tropics for its large fleshy edible fruit
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the fruit of this plant, consisting of an inflorescence clustered around a fleshy axis and surmounted by a tuft of leaves
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slang military a hand grenade
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.
Vocabulary lists containing pineapple
Africa - Introductory
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South America - Middle School
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South America - Introductory
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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.
Pineapple on pizza is a no-go for Tucci.
From BBC • May 9, 2026
A Mango Pineapple Refresher and Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer are joining the new beverage lineup in U.S. restaurants.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
Nine strains are being grown here at Pineapple Road, a farm deep in the countryside on the Caribbean island of Antigua.
From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026
A powerful Pineapple Express storm could deliver a wet, white and potentially wild Christmas to California, with the possibility of snow in the Sierra Nevada and plenty of rainfall across the Southland.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025
I kneel onto the soft earth and start tossing aside the larger pieces of garbage —a very sad looking Pierre the Pineapple, for one.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
