water chestnut


noun
  1. any aquatic plant of the genus Trapa, bearing an edible, nutlike fruit, especially T. natans, of the Old World.

  2. the fruit itself.

Origin of water chestnut

1
First recorded in 1850–55
  • Also called water caltrop.

Words Nearby water chestnut

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use water chestnut in a sentence

  • Once I was as full of romance as a water-chestnut is of starch.

    Parrot & Co. | Harold MacGrath
  • She seemed to have the texture of the water chestnut and the lush, fat vegetables of the spring.

    The "Genius" | Theodore Dreiser

British Dictionary definitions for water chestnut

water chestnut

noun
  1. Also called: water caltrop a floating aquatic onagraceous plant, Trapa natans, of Asia, having four-pronged edible nutlike fruits

  2. Chinese water chestnut a Chinese cyperaceous plant, Eleocharis tuberosa, with an edible succulent corm

  1. the corm of the Chinese water chestnut, used in Oriental cookery

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