FRUIT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fruit mean? 

• FRUIT (noun)
  The noun FRUIT has 3 senses:

1. the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant

2. an amount of a product

3. the consequence of some effort or action

  Familiarity information: FRUIT used as a noun is uncommon.

• FRUIT (verb)
  The verb FRUIT has 2 senses:

1. cause to bear fruit

2. bear fruit

  Familiarity information: FRUIT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FRUIT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The ripened reproductive body of a seed plant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("fruit" is a kind of...):

reproductive structure (the parts of a plant involved in its reproduction)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fruit"):

rowanberry (decorative red berrylike fruit of a rowan tree)

schizocarp (a dry dehiscent fruit that at maturity splits into two or more parts each with a single seed)

cubeb (spicy fruit of the cubeb vine; when dried and crushed is used medicinally or in perfumery and sometimes smoked in cigarettes)

buckthorn berry; yellow berry (fruit of various buckthorns yielding dyes or pigments)

accessory fruit; pseudocarp (fruit containing much fleshy tissue besides that of the ripened ovary; as apple or strawberry)

pyxidium; pyxis (fruit of such plants as the plantain; a capsule whose upper part falls off when the seeds are released)

pod; seedpod (a several-seeded dehiscent fruit as e.g. of a leguminous plant)

false fruit; pome (a fleshy fruit (apple or pear or related fruits) having seed chambers and an outer fleshy part)

drupe; stone fruit (fleshy indehiscent fruit with a single seed: e.g. almond; peach; plum; cherry; elderberry; olive; jujube)

aggregate fruit; multiple fruit; syncarp (fruit consisting of many individual small fruits or drupes derived from separate ovaries within a common receptacle: e.g. blackberry; raspberry; pineapple)

berry (a small fruit having any of various structures, e.g., simple (grape or blueberry) or aggregate (blackberry or raspberry))

seed (a small hard fruit)

fruitlet (a diminutive fruit, especially one that is part of a multiple fruit)

capitulum; ear; spike (fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn)

buffalo nut; elk nut; oil nut (oily drupaceous fruit of rabbitwood)

edible fruit (edible reproductive body of a seed plant especially one having sweet flesh)

chokecherry (the fruit of the chokecherry tree)

hagberry (small cherry much liked by birds)

marasca (small bitter fruit of the marasca cherry tree from whose juice maraschino liqueur is made)

wild cherry (the fruit of the wild cherry tree)

hip; rose hip; rosehip (the fruit of a rose plant)

olive (small ovoid fruit of the European olive tree; important food and source of oil)

acorn (fruit of the oak tree: a smooth thin-walled nut in a woody cup-shaped base)

blue fig; quandong (the fruit of the Brisbane quandong tree)

prairie gourd (small hard green-and-white inedible fruit of the prairie gourd plant)

gourd (any of numerous inedible fruits with hard rinds)

achene (small dry indehiscent fruit with the seed distinct from the fruit wall)

May apple (edible but insipid fruit of the May apple plant)

juniper berry (berrylike fruit of a plant of the genus Juniperus especially the berrylike cone of the common juniper)

Derivation:

fructify (bear fruit)

fructify (become productive or fruitful)

fruit (bear fruit)

fruit (cause to bear fruit)

fruiterer (a person who sells fruit)

fruitlet (a diminutive fruit, especially one that is part of a multiple fruit)

fruity (tasting or smelling richly of or as of fruit)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An amount of a product

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

fruit; yield

Hypernyms ("fruit" is a kind of...):

product; production (an artifact that has been created by someone or some process)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The consequence of some effort or action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Context example:

he lived long enough to see the fruit of his policies

Hypernyms ("fruit" is a kind of...):

aftermath; consequence (the outcome of an event especially as relative to an individual)

• FRUIT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they fruit    ... he / she / it fruits   
Past simple: fruited   
Past participle: fruited   
-ing form: fruiting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to bear fruit

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Cause:

fruit (bear fruit)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fruit (the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant)

fruitage (the yield of fruit)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bear fruit

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

the trees fruited early this year

Hypernyms (to "fruit" is one way to...):

bear; turn out (bring forth)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

fruit (the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant)

fruitage (the yield of fruit)

fruition (the condition of bearing fruit)

 Context examples 

Vegetables and fruits are rich sources of antioxidants.

(Antioxidants, NIH: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

For, though Julia has a stately house, and mighty company, and sumptuous dinners every day, I see no green growth near her; nothing that can ever come to fruit or flower.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

It seemed likely to bear fruit.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Organic antioxidants are found in high concentrations in fruits, seeds and vegetables.

(Antioxidant, NCI Thesaurus)

The glass smashed into a thousand pieces and the fruit rolled about into every corner of the room.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In this garden stood a fine large pear-tree full of ripe fruit; and Ashputtel, not knowing where to hide herself, jumped up into it without being seen.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

So far, no research on supplements has shown us anything better than healthy servings of less processed plant foods including vegetables, fruits and nuts.

(Most Popular Supplements Provide No Health Benefit, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A substance found in yellow and orange fruits and vegetables and in dark green, leafy vegetables.

(Beta carotene, NCI Dictionary)

A naturally-occurring retinol (vitamin A) precursor obtained from certain fruits and vegetables with potential antineoplastic and chemopreventive activities.

(Beta-Carotene, NCI Thesaurus)

Bay fruit oil can be used for its anti-rheumatism effects.

(Bay Fruit Oil, NCI Thesaurus)