DictionaryAI

onion

noun
UN-yuhn/ˈʌn.jən/

Pluralonions

6 meanings of onion

Practice

  1. 1
    vegetablenouncountable or uncountable
    A round vegetable made of layers with a strong smell and taste, used in cooking, or the plant it grows on.

    Like a ball made of many thin layers wrapped one inside another.

    She chopped an onion for the soup.

    The onions made her eyes water as she cooked.

    UsageSay an onion, two onions, or some onion.

    Note
  2. 2
    plant familynouncountable
    Any of several plants that look like the common onion and belong to the same plant family.

    Wild onions grow along the riverbank in spring.

    The Welsh onion has long green leaves but no real bulb.

    Note
  3. 3
    ouncenounslangcountable
    A slang word for one ounce of an illegal drug.

    The drug dealer sold his neighbor an onion and promised another ounce next week.

    The dealer offered to sell him an onion of weed for cash.

    Similarounce

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    nounobsolete
    An old slang word for a ball used in a game.
    Note
  2. 5
    nounobsolete
    An old slang word for a small seal that hangs from a watch chain.
    Note
  3. 6
    nounslang
    Internet slang for soy, used in put-downs aimed at men seen as weak or unmanly.

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Old French oignon, from Latin ūniō meaning "onion."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

  • English onion derives from Old French oignon. en.wiktionary.org
  • Old French oignon derives from Latin ūniō, meaning onion, through its accusative ūniōnem. en.wiktionary.org