grape

GRAYP/ɡɹeɪp/

17 meanings of grape

1
fruitnouncountable
An edible fruit produced in bunches by Vitis vines, with a small, round shape and smooth skin that is usually purple, red, or green.
He plucked a single grape from the bunch.
The vineyard grows grapes for both eating and winemaking.
UsageOne berry is a grape; the cluster is a bunch of grapes.
2
vinenouncountable or uncountable
A woody vine of the genus Vitis that bears clusters of grapes.
The old grape had twisted its way up the entire trellis.
Every winter, she prunes the grapes along the back fence.
UsageFor the plant, grapevine or just vine is more common.
Similarvine
3
food and drinkadjective
Containing grapes or having the flavor of grapes.
Grape jam spread easily across the warm toast.
The popsicles came in grape and cherry.
UsageUse grape, not the plural, before a noun: grape juice, grape jelly.
4
similar fruitnouncountable
Any of various fruits or plants belonging to other genera that resemble true grapes to varying degrees, some edible and some not.
Despite its name, the Oregon grape is not related to the grapes used for wine.
These coastal grapes belong to a genus entirely unrelated to Vitis.
Note
A naming habit more than a botanical claim. The borrowed name nearly always travels with a qualifier, as in sea grape or tail grape, and in these examples the plant is not a true Vitis vine. Because these plants vary in edibility, the name alone says nothing about whether the fruit can safely be eaten.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Sea grape is a name for a plant outside Vitis. gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu
Tail grape is a name for a plant outside Vitis. indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in
A qualifier alone does not establish this: frost grape, for example, is Vitis vulpina. Sea grape and tail grape specifically designate plants outside Vitis. plants.ces.ncsu.edu
Plants outside Vitis called grapes are not necessarily edible. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

5
nouncountable or uncountable
A dark purplish-red color, the shade of many ripe grapes.
The designer paired grape with gold for the fall collection.
At dusk the hills faded to a soft grape.
Similarplum, purple, aubergine
6
adjective
Having a dark, purplish-red color.
She chose grape velvet for the throw pillows.
Just after sunset, the sky over the hills turned grape and then black.
Similarplum, purple
7
cannon shotnoununcountableabbreviationclipping
Short for grapeshot: small iron balls packed together and fired from a cannon as a single charge, spreading out at close range.
The frigate raked the enemy deck with grape at close range.
A single blast of grape tore through the advancing line.
Note
Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) has guns 'double-shotted with grape and canister.' Grapeshot was a historical cannon charge of small iron balls packed in a canvas bag, so the clipping belongs to period writing.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Edgar Allan Poe wrote The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. en.wikipedia.org
The book's first edition was published in 1838. gutenberg.org
The quoted wording occurs in the novel, in Pym's narration. gutenberg.org
Historical grapeshot included iron balls secured in canvas. emuseum.colonialwilliamsburg.org
8
sex crimenouneuphemisticcountable or uncountable
A deliberate respelling of "rape" used to slip past automated content filters while still referring to the crime of sexual assault.
Moderators removed the thread after a user described the grape in detail.
She posted about her grape on the app, knowing the real word would get her video flagged.
UsageOutside filtered platforms, the plain word rape is expected.
Similarrape
Note
Online code for a serious word. The respelling exists so that posts about sexual assault get past keyword filters, and the 🍇 emoji does the same job. It is not a joke, and it does not soften the meaning: it still refers to the crime.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Grape is a respelling of rape intended to avoid content filters. en.wiktionary.org
The grape emoji serves as a filter-avoidance substitute for rape. en.wiktionary.org
9
force sex onverbeuphemistictransitive
A deliberate respelling of the verb "rape", used to evade automated content filters online.
Her post said he tried to grape her, spelled that way so the platform would not remove it.
Commenters claimed the streamer had graped a fan, using the code word to avoid a ban.
UsageIn edited writing, use rape.
Similarrape
10
headnounslangcountable or uncountable
A person's head.
She banged her grape on the low doorframe.
Use your grape and figure it out.
Similarhead, nut, noggin, dome, loaf
Note
Slang associated with African-American Vernacular English, in the same family as noggin or dome.
11
feel aroundverbdialectalNorthern UKintransitive
To grope; to feel about or search with the hands.
Aw graped my way out i' the dark, An' down the stairs aw scrafflel'd
1836, William Stephenson Jr, Punch and Toby
Lang, lang I sought and graped for my pack, Till night and hunger forced me to come back.
1780, Alexander Wilson, A Pedlar's Story
Similargrope, fumble, feel
Note
A Northern British cousin of grope, kept alive in verse and dialect dialogue. Walter Scott's The Antiquary has Steenie 'graping about' in the dark, and Robert Burns rhymes 'He gapéd for't, he graped for't.'
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Grape is a Northern British form meaning grope, attested in verse and dialect dialogue. en.wiktionary.org
Walter Scott wrote The Antiquary, in which Steenie says he was 'graping about'. gutenberg.org
The incident Steenie describes takes place at night in dark surroundings. gutenberg.org
Robert Burns wrote the quoted words, attested under the title The Two Lawyers. en.wiktionary.org
12
envyverbHong Kongtransitive
To feel envy toward someone or what they possess.
Like the fox who called the grapes sour because he couldn't reach them.
He tends to grape anyone who earns more than he does.
She graped her cousin's success instead of celebrating it.
UsageElsewhere, envy or be jealous of is clearer.
Similarenvy, begrudge, resent
Note
Hong Kong English turned an idiom into a verb. 'Sour grapes' is the scorn people show for what they cannot have, and from it came 'to grape someone', meaning to envy them. The word keeps that idiom's edge of resentment rather than plain admiration.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The Hong Kong English verb grape, meaning envy, derives from sour grapes. en.wiktionary.org
Sour grapes means expressing scorn for something one desires but cannot have. en.wiktionary.org
To grape someone means to envy them and comes from the idiom sour grapes. en.wiktionary.org
13
verbrare
To gather or pick grapes from the vine.
I used to go graping and blackberrying and blueberrying.
1973, Nancy Safford, Time's Island; Portraits of the Vineyard
14
nounslangUS
A flight-deck crew member, identified by a purple shirt, responsible for refueling aircraft.
15
verbrare
To take on a bumpy texture formed by tiny clusters of contaminating or foreign material, like miniature bunches of grapes.
Some small graped pisolitic textures are primary but not important.
1991, Desheng Li, Tectonic types of oil and gas basins in China
16
nounarchaic
A mangy, tumor-like growth that forms on a horse's leg.
17
verb
Of cattle or other livestock, to break out in tubercles caused by tuberculosis.
The lungs were in a bad condition, hard in places, and lumpy and badly graped.
1891, Public Health - Volume 4

Practice

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Origin

The word comes from Middle English 'grape', from Old French 'grape' or 'grappe' (a cluster of fruit or flowers, a bunch of grapes). This came from 'graper' ('to pick grapes', literally 'to hook'), which was of Germanic origin, from Frankish '*krappō' ('hook') and ultimately a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to turn, bend, twist'.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

English grape comes through Middle English grape from Old French. en.wiktionary.org
Old French grape and grappe meant a cluster of fruit or flowers, including a bunch of grapes. en.wiktionary.org
The Old French noun derives from graper, meaning to pick grapes, literally to hook. en.wiktionary.org
Graper has Germanic ancestry through Frankish *krappō, meaning hook. en.wiktionary.org
The proposed ultimate Proto-Indo-European root means to turn, bend, twist. en.wiktionary.org