Dictionary.com

rambutan

[ ram-boot-n ]
/ ræmˈbut n /
Save This Word!
noun
the bright-red oval fruit of a Malayan, sapindaceous tree, Nephelium lappaceum, covered with soft spines, or hairs, and having a subacid taste.
the tree itself.
QUIZ
GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!
Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.
Question 1 of 9
Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?
cactus
wallet
goat
party
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of rambutan

1700–10; <Malay, equivalent to rambut hair + -an nominalizing suffix

Words nearby rambutan

rambling, Rambo, Ramboesque, Rambouillet, rambunctious, rambutan, RAMC, ram down someone's throat, Rameau, Ramée, ramekin
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use rambutan in a sentence

  • Among the fruits which we have tasted for the first time the mangosteen and the rambutan are rivals in popularity.

    The Old World and Its Ways|William Jennings Bryan

  • The rambutan has not received as much praise as the mangosteen, but I am not sure but that it is superior for continuous use.

    The Old World and Its Ways|William Jennings Bryan

  • The pulp of the rambutan resembles a pigeon's egg in size and shape and contains a single seed.

    The Old World and Its Ways|William Jennings Bryan

  • Then there was the rambutan—a globular fruit, an inch and a half in diameter.

    In the Eastern Seas|W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for rambutan

rambutan
/ (ræmˈbuːtən) /
noun
a sapindaceous tree, Nephelium lappaceum, native to SE Asia, that has bright red edible fruit
the fruit of this tree

Word Origin for rambutan

C18: from Malay, from rambut hair
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK