vegetable

[vej-tuh-buhl, vej-i-tuh-]

noun

1. any plant whose fruit, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food, as the tomato, bean, beet, potato, onion, asparagus, spinach, or cauliflower.

2. the edible part of such a plant, as the tuber of the potato.

3. any member of the plant kingdom; plant.

4. Informal.,  a person who is so severely impaired mentally or physically as to be largely incapable of conscious responses or activity.

5. a dull, spiritless, and uninteresting person.

adjective

1. of, consisting of, or made from edible vegetables.

   a vegetable diet.

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of plants.

   the vegetable kingdom.

3. derived from plants.

   vegetable fiber; vegetable oils.

4. consisting of, comprising, or containing the substance or remains of plants.

   vegetable matter; a vegetable organism.

5. of the nature of or resembling a plant.

   the vegetable forms of Art Nouveau ornament.

6. inactive; inert; dull; uneventful.

   a vegetable existence.

vegetable

/ ˈvɛdʒtəbəl /

noun

1. any of various herbaceous plants having parts that are used as food, such as peas, beans, cabbage, potatoes, cauliflower, and onions

2. informal,  a person who has lost control of his mental faculties, limbs, etc, as from an injury, mental disease, etc

3. 1. a dull inactive person

   2. ( as modifier )

      a vegetable life

4. (modifier) consisting of or made from edible vegetables

   a vegetable diet

5. (modifier) of, relating to, characteristic of, derived from, or consisting of plants or plant material

   vegetable oils

6. rare,  any member of the plant kingdom

vegetable

1. A plant that is cultivated for an edible part, such as the leaf of spinach, the root of the carrot, or the stem of celery.

2. An edible part of one of these plants.

3. See Note at fruit

Other Word Forms

• nonvegetable noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vegetable¹

1350–1400; Middle English (adjective) < Late Latin vegetābilis “able to live and grow,” equivalent to vegetā(re) “to quicken” ( vegetate ) + -bilis -ble

Word History and Origins

Origin of vegetable¹

c14 (adj): from Late Latin vegetābilis animating, from vegetāre to enliven, from Latin vegēre to excite

Example Sentences

The Chicago-based architecture professor stashes vegetable scraps and leftover meat bones in plastic bags in her freezer.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Supplying fresh foods, such as fruits, vegetables and dairy, requires skilled workers on tight timelines to ensure ripeness, freshness and high quality.

Read more on Salon

Bags of refuse for sale to recycling companies line a muddy path to a vegetable garden tended by residents of the informal settlement at the foot of the high-rises of Sandton, South Africa's economic hub.

Read more on Barron's

More than 40 percent of people in the poorest of New York's five boroughs, the Bronx, eat neither fruits nor vegetables in an average week.

Read more on Barron's

Rich dietary sources include eggs, poultry, fish, beans and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• herb 
• legume 
• produce 
• salad