Definition of 'apple'

Word Frequency

apple

(æpəl )

Word forms: plural apples

1. variable noun

An apple is a round fruit with smooth green, yellow, or red skin and firm white flesh.

I want an apple.

...2kg cooking apples.

...his ongoing search for the finest varieties of apple.

...a large garden with apple trees in it.

2. See also Adam's apple, Big Apple, crab apple

See the apple of your eye

Image of
apple

Video: pronunciation of
apple

apple in British English

(ˈæpəl )

noun

a rosaceous tree, Malus sieversii, native to Central Asia but widely cultivated in temperate regions in many varieties, having pink or white fragrant flowers and firm rounded edible fruits

apple in American English

(ˈæpəl )

noun

a round, firm, fleshy, edible fruit with a green, yellow, or red skin and small seeds

any of the trees (genus Malus) of the rose family bearing this fruit, widely distributed in temperate regions

any of various plants bearing applelike fruits, or growths, as the May apple, love apple, etc.

Idioms:

the Apple

Word origin

ME appel < OE æppel, fruit, apple (also, eyeball, anything round); akin to OIr aball (Welsh afall), apple tree

Word Frequency

apple in American English

(ˈæpəl)

noun

the usually round, red or greenish-yellow, edible fruit of a small tree, Malus sylvestris, of the rose family

the tree, cultivated in most temperate regions

the fruit of any of certain other species of tree of the same genus

any of these trees

any of various other similar fruits, or fruitlike products or plants, as the custard apple, love apple, May apple, or oak apple

anything resembling an apple in size and shape, as a ball, esp. a baseball

7. Tenpin Bowling

an ineffectively bowled ball

8. slang

a red capsule containing a barbiturate, esp. secobarbital

Word origin

[bef. 900; ME appel, OE æppel; c. OFris, D appel, OS apl, appul, OHG apful (G Apfel), Crimean Goth apel ‹ Gmc *aplu (akin to ON epli ‹ *apljan); OIr ubull (neut.), Welsh afal, Breton aval ‹ pre-Celtic *ǫblu; Lith óbuolas, -ỹs, Latvian âbuol(i)s (with reshaped suffix), OPruss woble, perh. Thracian (din)upla, (sin)upyla wild pumpkin, OCS (j)ablŭko (repr. *ablŭ-ko, neut.) ‹ Balto-Slavic *āblu-. Cf. avalon]

Examples of 'apple' in a sentence
apple

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

Pretty double doors open onto a garden with an apple tree.The favourite dish with all ages was apple pie.These bad apples can thrive in a bad barrel. Light and fresh with hints of moreish green apple and pale peppers.He has been offering his MPs signed apples from his garden instead.The twists The apple pie is a superb vehicle for other seasonal ingredients.The central question is, bad apples or bad barrels? Think green apples and elderflower. An apple tree, in London.To finish use a natural pink on the apple of the cheeks to soften the look.

Word lists with
apple

sauce, tree, wood

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Question: 1

Score: 0 / 5

Which tree am I?

any of various Australian trees or shrubs, esp Brachychiton populneum, a sterculiaceous tree that yields a tough durable fibre

bottle tree kurrajong silky oak

Which tree am I?

a betulaceous tree, Betula pendula, of N temperate regions of the Old World, having silvery-white peeling bark

alder birch silver birch

Which tree am I?

a small drought-resistant tree, Geijera parviflora, of Australia, having hard aromatic wood, white flowers, and foliage that resembles that of the willow

Antarctic beech walnut wilga

Which tree am I?

any tree of the salicaceous genus Populus, of N temperate regions, having triangular leaves, flowers borne in catkins, and light soft wood

poplar walnut willow

Which tree am I?

any of various tropical American trees of the myrtaceous genus Psidium, esp P. guajava, grown in tropical regions for their edible fruit

guava mahogany walnut

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