coconut

noun

SayKOH-kuh-nutUS/ˈkoʊ.kəˌnʌt/UK/ˈkəʊ.kə.nʌt//ˈkəʉ.kə.nɐt/

11 meanings of coconut

1
nouncountable or uncountable
A big seed with a hard brown shell, white flesh inside, and liquid in the middle.
Like a hard ball with a surprise drink hidden inside.
Dad cracked the coconut open so we could drink the sweet water inside.
She shook each of the coconuts at the market to hear the liquid inside.
2
nouncountable or uncountable
The large fruit of a tall palm tree, with a thick outer layer around one big seed.
A green coconut fell from the tree and rolled across the sand.
Farmers picked the coconuts while they were still green and heavy.
Note
3
noununcountable
The white part inside a coconut that people eat, often dried or grated for cooking.
The top of the cake was covered with small pieces of coconut.
This candy bar has chocolate on the outside and sweet coconut inside.
4
nouncountable or uncountable
The tall palm tree that coconuts grow on.
A tall coconut grew beside their house, dropping fruit onto the roof.
Strong winds bent the coconuts along the shore until their leaves touched the sand.
5
nounslangcountable or uncountable
A funny, informal word for a person's head.
Watch your coconut. That doorway is really low.
Use your coconut and check the map before we drive any farther.
Similarnut
Note
6
nounslangcountable or uncountable
A rude slang word for a woman's breast.
The comedian made a rude joke about the dancer's coconuts bouncing as she ran.
Her costume top slipped, and one coconut nearly popped out on stage.
Similarmelon, jug, knocker, boob
7
nounderogatoryethnicslurUScountable or uncountable
An insulting word for a Hispanic or other dark-skinned person who acts too much like white people.
Some kids at school called Maria a coconut because she only spoke English.
He worried his cousins in Mexico would call him a coconut for forgetting his Spanish.
Note
8
nounderogatoryethnicslurAustraliaKenyaSouth Africacountable or uncountable
An offensive word for a Black person seen as acting too white or as betraying other Black people.
SimilarOreo
Note
9
nounderogatoryethnicslurNew Zealandcountable or uncountable
An insulting word for a person from the Pacific islands.
The new kid from Samoa got called a coconut by bullies at school.
Her coach was suspended for calling one of the Tongan players a coconut.
Note
10
nounderogatoryethnicslurSingaporecountable or uncountable
An insulting word for a Malay person who cannot speak the Malay language.
His Malay aunties called him a coconut because he could only answer them in English.
She spoke Malay at home so her kids would not grow up as coconuts.
Note
11
nounderogatoryethnicslurMalaysiacountable or uncountable
An insulting word for an Indian person who cannot speak the Tamil language.
Her relatives in Chennai teased her for being a coconut who only spoke English.
He laughed and called himself a coconut because he never learned Tamil.
Note

Practice

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Origin

It comes from "coco" plus "nut".