turnip
Americannoun
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the thick, fleshy, edible root of either of two plants of the mustard family, the white-fleshed Brassica rapa rapifera or the yellow-fleshed rutabaga.
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the plant itself.
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the root of this plant used as a vegetable.
noun
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a widely cultivated plant, Brassica rapa , of the Mediterranean region, with a large yellow or white edible root: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
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the root of this plant, which is eaten as a vegetable
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any of several similar or related plants
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another name for kohlrabi
Other Word Forms
- turniplike adjective
Etymology
Origin of turnip
1525–35; earlier turnep(e) , equivalent to turn (with reference to its neatly rounded shape) + nepe neep
Compare meaning
How does turnip compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A turnip is a slightly bitter-flavored root vegetable. In Japan, it's common to pickle turnips and serve them as a cold snack or in a stir fry with other vegetables. You can recognize a turnip by its roundish shape and its white color, often accented at the top by pink or purple. Turnips also have green leaves that can be cooked and eaten. Some people also call rutabagas turnips, although these are actually a cross between a turnip and cabbage. Experts think the turn part of turnip stems from the idea that it looks like it's been turned, or rotated and shaped, on a lathe.
Vocabulary lists containing turnip
"The Secret Water"
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The Boxcar Children
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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.
The winner takes home a turnip impaled on a rusty six inch nail in a block of wood as a trophy and a blue plaque.
From BBC • Dec. 2, 2025
In gatherings, they savored rice cakes and turnip cakes, with children receiving cash-stuffed red envelopes as blessings from their married relatives.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2024
At 26 years old, he unearthed for the first time one of the prairie's most prolific provisions: a wild turnip known as timpsila in the Lakota language.
From Salon • Aug. 30, 2023
We make a salad out of turnip sprouts.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2023
Frank refused to believe he’d been chosen by the Fates to go on this quest just so he could take online courses in turnip cultivation.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
