VEGETABLE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does vegetable mean? 

• VEGETABLE (noun)
  The noun VEGETABLE has 2 senses:

1. edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant

2. any of various herbaceous plants cultivated for an edible part such as the fruit or the root of the beet or the leaf of spinach or the seeds of bean plants or the flower buds of broccoli or cauliflower

  Familiarity information: VEGETABLE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VEGETABLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

veg; vegetable; veggie

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

garden truck; green goods; green groceries; produce (fresh fruits and vegetable grown for the market)

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

rabbit food; raw vegetable (an uncooked vegetable)

fennel; finocchio; Florence fennel (aromatic bulbous stem base eaten cooked or raw in salads)

plantain (starchy banana-like fruit; eaten (always cooked) as a staple vegetable throughout the tropics)

earthnut; truffle (edible subterranean fungus of the genus Tuber)

pumpkin (usually large pulpy deep-yellow round fruit of the squash family maturing in late summer or early autumn)

mushroom (fleshy body of any of numerous edible fungi)

gumbo; okra (long mucilaginous green pods; may be simmered or sauteed but used especially in soups and stews)

celery (stalks eaten raw or cooked or used as seasoning)

cardoon (only parts eaten are roots and especially stalks (blanched and used as celery); related to artichokes)

leek (related to onions; white cylindrical bulb and flat dark-green leaves)

onion (an aromatic flavorful vegetable)

bamboo shoot (edible young shoots of bamboo)

asparagus (edible young shoots of the asparagus plant)

artichoke; globe artichoke (a thistlelike flower head with edible fleshy leaves and heart)

julienne; julienne vegetable (a vegetable cut into thin strips (usually used as a garnish))

legume (the seedpod of a leguminous plant (such as peas or beans or lentils))

potherb (any of various herbaceous plants whose leaves or stems or flowers are cooked and used for food or seasoning)

green; greens; leafy vegetable (any of various leafy plants or their leaves and stems eaten as vegetables)

solanaceous vegetable (any of several fruits of plants of the family Solanaceae; especially of the genera Solanum, Capsicum, and Lycopersicon)

root vegetable (any of various fleshy edible underground roots or tubers)

pieplant; rhubarb (long pinkish sour leafstalks usually eaten cooked and sweetened)

cruciferous vegetable (a vegetable of the mustard family: especially mustard greens; various cabbages; broccoli; cauliflower; brussels sprouts)

squash (edible fruit of a squash plant; eaten as a vegetable)

cucumber; cuke (cylindrical green fruit with thin green rind and white flesh eaten as a vegetable; related to melons)

artichoke heart (the tender fleshy center of the immature artichoke flower)

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

herb; herbaceous plant (a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of various herbaceous plants cultivated for an edible part such as the fruit or the root of the beet or the leaf of spinach or the seeds of bean plants or the flower buds of broccoli or cauliflower

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

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

herb; herbaceous plant (a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests)

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

beet; Beta vulgaris; common beet (biennial Eurasian plant usually having a swollen edible root; widely cultivated as a food crop)

prickly-seeded spinach; spinach; spinach plant; Spinacia oleracea (southwestern Asian plant widely cultivated for its succulent edible dark green leaves)

artichoke; artichoke plant; Cynara scolymus; globe artichoke (Mediterranean thistlelike plant widely cultivated for its large edible flower head)

cardoon; Cynara cardunculus (southern European plant having spiny leaves and purple flowers cultivated for its edible leafstalks and roots)

 Context examples 

The calcium salt form of glucaric acid, a natural substance found in many fruits and vegetables, with potential anti-cancer property.

(Calcium Saccharate, NCI Thesaurus)

These vegetables contain substances that may protect against cancer.

(Brassica vegetable, NCI Dictionary)

Study participants were asked to rate their level of happiness and record their daily consumption of fruit and vegetables. (UQ News)

(Fruit and veggies pave the road to happiness, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

For older children and adults, the diet includes many fruits and vegetables.

(Phenylketonuria, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

Such substances, depending on their origin, are classified as animal, mineral, or vegetable oils.

(Oil Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

In the experiment, one group of mice were also dosed with the vegetable derived antioxidant sulforaphane (SFN).

(Antioxidants May Prevent Cognitive Impairment in Diabetes, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This is an area that needs fire in order to maintain its animal and vegetable species diversity.

(Fire control harms biodiversity in Brazilian savannah, SciDev.Net)

A new study found that millions of people have been dying around the world as a result of poor diets, and taking too much salt and not enough whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

(Poor Diet Kills More People Than Smoking, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

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 vegetable belonging to the Brassica genus of plants in the mustard family with potential chemopreventive activity.

(Brassica vegetable, NCI Thesaurus)