ONION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does onion mean? 

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

1. the bulb of an onion plant

2. bulbous plant having hollow leaves cultivated worldwide for its rounded edible bulb

3. an aromatic flavorful vegetable

  Familiarity information: ONION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ONION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The bulb of an onion plant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

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

bulb (a modified bud consisting of a thickened globular underground stem serving as a reproductive structure)

Holonyms ("onion" is a part of...):

Allium cepa; onion; onion plant (bulbous plant having hollow leaves cultivated worldwide for its rounded edible bulb)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bulbous plant having hollow leaves cultivated worldwide for its rounded edible bulb

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

Allium cepa; onion; onion plant

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

alliaceous plant (bulbous plants having a characteristic pungent onion odor)

Meronyms (parts of "onion"):

onion (the bulb of an onion plant)

Meronyms (substance of "onion"):

isothiocyanate (a family of compounds derived from horseradish and radishes and onions and mustards; source of the hotness of those plants and preparations)

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

Allium ascalonicum; Allium cepa aggregatum; eschalot; multiplier onion; shallot (type of onion plant producing small clustered mild-flavored bulbs used as seasoning)

Allium cepa viviparum; Egyptian onion; top onion; tree onion (type of perennial onion grown chiefly as a curiosity or for early salad onions; having bulbils that replace the flowers)

Allium fistulosum; Japanese leek; Welsh onion (Asiatic onion with slender bulbs; used as early green onions)

Allium haematochiton; red-skinned onion (onion with white to deep red tunic; California)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An aromatic flavorful vegetable

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

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

veg; vegetable; veggie (edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant)

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

Bermuda onion (mild flat onion grown in warm areas)

green onion; scallion; spring onion (a young onion before the bulb has enlarged; eaten in salads)

Vidalia onion (sweet-flavored onion grown in Georgia)

Spanish onion (large mild and succulent onion; often eaten raw)

shallot (small mild-flavored onion-like or garlic-like clustered bulbs used for seasoning)

 Context examples 

"So could I—with a roast onion. Come, we'll go down."

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Garlic plants are closely related to and similar to onions and they have a similar, but stronger odor.

(Allium sativum, NCI Thesaurus)

You can also have bad breath if you eat some foods, like raw onions, garlic or cabbage.

(Bad Breath, NIH)

It is characterized by the formation of pseudo-onion bulbs by the proliferating perineural cells.

(Intraneural Perineurioma, NCI Thesaurus)

He paid a dollar each on account to the four tradesmen, and in his kitchen fried steak and onions, made coffee, and stewed a large pot of prunes.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

By the apple of Eve! cried the fat knight, it appears to me that this wind brings a very savory smell of garlic and of onions from their cooking-kettles.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A naturally occurring organoselenium compound found in many plants, including garlic, onions, and broccoli, with potential antioxidant and chemopreventive activities.

(Methylselenocysteine, NCI Thesaurus)

There was severe diffuse diabetic glomerulosclerosis and severe hypertensive changes in arteries and arterioles characterised by fibrinoid necrosis and/or onion skin lesions as well as smooth muscle hyperplasia.

(CRDH, Rat Strain, NCI Thesaurus)

Oligofructose-enriched inulin is made by combining two substances that occur naturally in many plants, including chicory root, wheat, bananas, onion, and garlic.

(Oligofructose-enriched inulin, NCI Dictionary)

I dined on what they called "robber steak"—bits of bacon, onion, and beef, seasoned with red pepper, and strung on sticks and roasted over the fire, in the simple style of the London cat's meat!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)