popcorn
Americannoun
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any of several varieties of corn whose kernels burst open and puff out when subjected to dry heat.
-
popped corn.
noun
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a variety of maize having hard pointed kernels that puff up when heated
-
the puffed edible kernels of this plant
Etymology
Origin of popcorn
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.
He had just returned home to Reno after dropping out of community college and was working odd jobs sweeping popcorn at a movie theater and stocking shelves at a local 7-Eleven.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Earlier in his career, Cruise regularly mixed roles in safer popcorn movies with riskier work by directors like Stanley Kubrick and Michael Mann.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Those have all been encouraging signs for theater owners such as Gunsky, who started serving popcorn at his family-owned CineLux Theatres at age 10 and threaded projectors at 13.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Odeon Extras members can claim a free large popcorn, even without buying a cinema ticket, while Hobbycraft Club members receive £5 of birthday credit with no minimum spend.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
When Celia procures him a black-and-white-striped paper bag of popcorn, he insists he wants caramel as well, and will not eat it plain.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
