vanilla

American  

[vuh-nil-uh, -nel-uh] / vəˈnɪl ə, -ˈnɛl ə /

noun

vanillas plural

1. any tropical, climbing orchid of the genus Vanilla, especially V. planifolia, bearing podlike fruit yielding an extract used in flavoring food, in perfumery, etc.

2. Also called vanilla bean.  the fruit or bean of this orchid.

3. the extract of this fruit.

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adjective

1. containing or flavored with vanilla.

   vanilla custard.

2. Informal. plain vanilla.

vanilla British  

/ vəˈnɪlə /

noun

1. any tropical climbing orchid of the genus Vanilla, esp V. plonifolia, having spikes of large fragrant greenish-yellow flowers and long fleshy pods containing the seeds (beans)

2. the pod or bean of certain of these plants, used to flavour food, etc

3. a flavouring extract prepared from vanilla beans and used in cooking

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adjective

1. flavoured with or as if with vanilla

   vanilla ice cream

2. slang ordinary or conventional

   a vanilla kind of guy

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• vanillas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vanilla

1655–65; < New Latin < Spanish vainilla little pod, equivalent to vain ( a ) a sheath (< Latin vāgīna sheath) + -illa diminutive suffix (< LL)

Explanation

Vanilla is the flavor for food — such as ice cream — that contains extract from the vanilla plant. This word also describes things that are boring or plain. If something is called vanilla — such as coffee or a milkshake — it's usually flavored with vanilla extract or the seeds from a vanilla pod. Vanilla is the most common flavor of ice cream. This word has another, slightly insulting, meaning: a vanilla movie is plain and kind of boring. A vanilla song is on the blah side. Maybe it's because vanilla food tends to be white and plain that we use this word for other things that are bland.

Example Sentences

Some of the listed performers, including Bret Michaels, Milli Vanilli and Vanilla Ice, weren’t all that shocking given Trump’s retrograde pop music taste.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026

But Vanilla Ice, whose real name is Robert Matthew Van Winkle, said: "This is not a political platform. This is celebrating America's birthday," in a caption to a video post on his Instagram account.

From BBC • May 31, 2026

Those include Vanilla Ice, C+C Music Factory, Flo Rida, and the surviving member of the duo Milli Vanilli, who haven't had a new hit in more than a decade.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

Artists who still appear to be part of the lineup for the curiously titled national state fair are rapper Flo-Rida and 1980s MTV staples C+C Music Factory and Vanilla Ice.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

“Are we seriously listening to Vanilla Ice right now?” she says as the opening bars of one of my favorite Queen songs—featuring David Bowie—play.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone