DictionaryAI

vegetable

VEJ-tuh-buhl/ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bl̩/

Pluralvegetables

6 meanings of vegetable

Practice

  1. 1
    food itemnouncountable
    A plant, or a part of one such as its leaves, roots, stems, or flowers, that is eaten as food, usually savory rather than sweet like fruit.

    The stew was packed with diced vegetables and barley.

    Spinach is the one vegetable my son will eat without complaining, as long as it's blended into a smoothie.

    UsageUse the plural for the food in general: eat more vegetables (not incorrect: eat more vegetable).

  2. 2
    of food plantsadjective
    Relating to or made from vegetables.

    The cafe is known for its hearty vegetable stew.

    She wrote a thesis on the vegetable trade of medieval ports.

    UsageComes before the noun and stays singular: vegetable soup, a vegetable garden.

  3. 3
    of plantsadjective
    Relating to plants or the plant world.

    The dye came from vegetable sources rather than minerals.

    Old textbooks split the world into animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms.

    Similarbotanical

    Oppositeanimal, mineral

    Note

    The adjective of the old threefold scheme sets plants against animals and minerals, as in "vegetable not mineral." It often takes in plant life as a whole, as in Thomas Hardy's "the vegetable world" in Two on a Tower (1882). The kitchen adjective instead points to food.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    plant (any kind)nounarchaiccountable
    Any organism belonging to the plant kingdom, as distinct from an animal or a mineral.
    That he might ascertain whether any of the cloths of ancient Egypt were made of hemp, M. Dutrochet has examined with the microscope the weavable filaments of this last vegetable.
    1837, The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal

    Similarplant

    Oppositeanimal

    Note

    Any plant qualifies. That is why Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island can call a towering tree "a giant of a vegetable."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island describes a towering tree as “a giant of a vegetable.” gutenberg.org
  2. 5
    brain damagenounderogatoryfigurativelycountable
    A derogatory term for a person left unable to interact with their surroundings by severe brain damage, as in a persistent vegetative state.

    Years in a coma had reduced him, in the cruel words of the press, to a vegetable.

    After the crash left him unable to speak or respond, a cruel neighbor referred to him as a vegetable, and his sister never forgave her.

    Similarcabbage

    Note

    A figurative insult that stays an insult: it reduces a person to something inert that is grown and harvested. The clinical phrase, persistent vegetative state, describes a condition rather than labeling a human being. Cabbage carries the same sting.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Persistent vegetative state is a clinical condition, rather than a name for a person. brainline.org
  3. 6
    nounslang
    In Royal Air Force slang, an explosive sea mine sown by dropping it from an aircraft.

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English vegetable, via Old French, from Latin vegetābilis ('able to live and grow'), which came from vegetāre ('to enliven'). It replaced the Old English words wyrt and ofett.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts