Adjacent Words

Fruit definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FRUIT, n. [L. fructus. The Latin word is the participle of fruor, contracted from frugor, or frucor, to use, to take the profit of.]
1. In a general sense, whatever the earth produces for the nourishment of animals, or for clothing or profit. Among the fruits of the earth are included not only corn of all kinds, but grass, cotton, flax, grapes and all cultivated plants. In this comprehensive sense, the word is generally used in the plural.
2. In a more limited sense, the produce of a tree or other plant; the last production for the propagation or multiplication of its kind; the seed of plants, or the part that contains the seeds; as wheat, rye, oats, apples, quinces, pears, cherries, acorns, melons, etc.
3. In botany, the seed of a plant, or the seed with the pericarp.
4. Production; that which is produced.
The fruit of the spirit is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth. Ephesians 5.
5. The produce of animals; offspring; young; as the fruit of the womb, of the loins, of the body.
6. Effect or consequence.
They shall eat the fruit of their doings. Isaiah 3.
7. Advantage; profit; good derived.
What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? Romans 6.
8. Production, effect or consequence; in an ill sense; as the fruits of sin; the fruits of intemperance.
FRUIT, v.i. To produce fruit. [Not well authorized.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant
2: an amount of a product [syn: yield, fruit]
3: the consequence of some effort or action; "he lived long enough to see the fruit of his policies" v
1: cause to bear fruit
2: bear fruit; "the trees fruited early this year"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from frut, fruit, from Latin fructus fruit, use, from frui to enjoy, have the use of — more at brook Date: 12th century 1. a. a product of plant growth (as grain, vegetables, or cotton) <the fruits of the field> b. (1) the usually edible reproductive body of a seed plant; especially one having a sweet pulp associated with the seed <the fruit of the tree> (2) a succulent plant part (as the petioles of a rhubarb plant) used chiefly in a dessert or sweet course c. a dish, quantity, or diet of fruits <live on fruit> d. a product of fertilization in a plant with its modified envelopes or appendages; specifically the ripened ovary of a seed plant and its contents e. the flavor or aroma of fresh fruit in mature wine 2. offspring, progeny 3. a. the state of bearing fruit <a tree in fruit> b. the effect or consequence of an action or operation ; product, result <the fruits of our labor> 4. usually disparaging a male homosexual • fruited adjective II. verb Date: 14th century intransitive verb to bear fruit transitive verb to cause to bear fruit

Britannica Concise

In its strict botanical sense, the fleshy or dry ripened ovary (enlarged portion of the pistil) of a flowering plant, enclosing the seed or seeds. Apricots, bananas, and grapes, as well as bean pods, corn grains, tomatoes, cucumbers, and (in their shells) acorns and almonds, are all technically fruits. Popularly, the term is restricted to the ripened ovaries that are sweet and either succulent or pulpy. The principal botanical purpose of the fruit is to protect and spread the seed. There are two broad categories of fruit: fleshy and dry. Fleshy fruits include berries, such as tomatoes, oranges, and cherries, which consist entirely of succulent tissue; aggregate fruits, incl. blackberries and strawberries, which form from a single flower with many pistils, each of which develops into fruitlets; and multiple fruits, such as pineapples and mulberries, which develop from the mature ovaries of an entire inflorescence. Dry fruits include the legumes, cereal grains, capsules, and nuts. Fruits are important sources of dietary fiber and vitamins (especially vitamin C). They can be eaten fresh; processed into juices, jams, and jellies; or preserved by dehydration, canning, fermentation, and pickling.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a the usu. sweet and fleshy edible product of a plant or tree, containing seed. b (in sing.) these in quantity (eats fruit). 2 the seed of a plant or tree with its covering, e.g. an acorn, pea pod, cherry, etc. 3 (usu. in pl.) vegetables, grains, etc. used for food (fruits of the earth). 4 (usu. in pl.) the result of action etc., esp. as financial reward (fruits of his labours). 5 sl. esp. US a male homosexual. 6 Bibl. an offspring (the fruit of the womb; the fruit of his loins). --v.intr. & tr. bear or cause to bear fruit. Phrases and idioms: fruit bar a piece of dried and pressed fruit. fruit-bat any large bat of the suborder Megachiroptera, feeding on fruit. fruit- (or fruiting-) body (pl. -ies) the spore-bearing part of a fungus. fruit cake 1 a cake containing dried fruit. 2 sl. an eccentric or mad person. fruit cocktail a finely-chopped usu. tinned fruit salad. fruit fly (pl. flies) any of various flies, esp. of the genus Drosophila, having larvae that feed on fruit. fruit machine Brit. a coin-operated gaming machine giving random combinations of symbols often representing fruit. fruit salad 1 various fruits cut up and served in syrup, juice, etc. 2 sl. a display of medals etc. fruit sugar fructose. fruit-tree a tree grown for its fruit. fruit-wood the wood of a fruit-tree, esp. when used in furniture. Derivatives: fruitage n. fruited adj. (also in comb.). Etymology: ME f. OF f. L fructus fruit, enjoyment f. frui enjoy

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fruit Fruit, n. [OE. fruit, frut, F. fruit, from L. fructus enjoyment, product, fruit, from frui, p. p. fructus, to enjoy; akin to E. brook, v. t. See Brook, v. t., and cf. Fructify, Frugal.] 1. Whatever is produced for the nourishment or enjoyment of man or animals by the processes of vegetable growth, as corn, grass, cotton, flax, etc.; -- commonly used in the plural. Six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof. --Ex. xxiii. 10. 2. (Hort.) The pulpy, edible seed vessels of certain plants, especially those grown on branches above ground, as apples, oranges, grapes, melons, berries, etc. See 3. 3. (Bot.) The ripened ovary of a flowering plant, with its contents and whatever parts are consolidated with it. Note: Fruits are classified as fleshy, drupaceous, and -dry. Fleshy fruits include berries, gourds, and melons, orangelike fruita and pomes; drupaceous fruits are stony within and fleshy without, as peaches, plums, and chercies;and dry fruits are further divided into achenes, follicles, legumes, capsules, nuts, and several other kinds. 4. (Bot.) The spore cases or conceptacles of flowerless plants, as of ferns, mosses, algae, etc., with the spores contained in them. 6. The produce of animals; offspring; young; as, the fruit of the womb, of the loins, of the body. King Edward's fruit, true heir to the English crown. --Shak. 6. That which is produced; the effect or consequence of any action; advantageous or desirable product or result; disadvantageous or evil consequence or effect; as, the fruits of labor, of self-denial, of intemperance. The fruit of rashness. --Shak. What I obtained was the fruit of no bargain. --Burke. They shall eat the fruit of their doings. --Is. iii 10. The fruits of this education became visible. --Macaulay. Note: Fruit is frequently used adjectively, signifying of, for, or pertaining to a fruit or fruits; as, fruit bud; fruit frame; fruit jar; fruit knife; fruit loft; fruit show; fruit stall; fruit tree; etc. Fruit bat (Zo["o]l.), one of the Frugivora; -- called also fruit-eating bat. Fruit bud (Bot.), a bud that produces fruit; -- in most oplants the same as the power bud. Fruit dot (Bot.), a collection of fruit cases, as in ferns. See Sorus. Fruit fly (Zo["o]l.), a small dipterous insect of the genus Drosophila, which lives in fruit, in the larval state. Fruit jar, a jar for holding preserved fruit, usually made of glass or earthenware. Fruit pigeon (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of pigeons of the family Carpophagid[ae], inhabiting India, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. They feed largely upon fruit. and are noted for their beautiful colors. Fruit sugar (Chem.), a kind of sugar occurring, naturally formed, in many ripe fruits, and in honey; levulose. The name is also, though rarely, applied to invert sugar, or to the natural mixture or dextrose and levulose resembling it, and found in fruits and honey. Fruit tree (Hort.), a tree cultivated for its edible fruit. Fruit worm (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of insect larv[ae]: which live in the interior of fruit. They are mostly small species of Lepidoptera and Diptera. Small fruits (Hort.), currants, raspberries, strawberries, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fruit Fruit, v. i. To bear fruit. --Chesterfield.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(fruit, or fruits, fruits, fruiting, fruited) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Fruit or a fruit is something which grows on a tree or bush and which contains seeds or a stone covered by a substance that you can eat. Fresh fruit and vegetables provide fibre and vitamins. ...bananas and other tropical fruits... Try to eat at least one piece of fruit a day. N-VAR 2. If a plant fruits, it produces fruit. The scientists will study the variety of trees and observe which are fruiting. VERB: V 3. The fruits or the fruit of someone's work or activity are the good things that result from it. The team have really worked hard and Mansell is enjoying the fruits of that labour... The findings are the fruit of more than three years research. N-COUNT: usu the N of n 4. see also dried fruit, forbidden fruit, kiwi fruit, passion fruit 5. If the effort that you put into something or a particular way of doing something bears fruit, it is successful and produces good results. He was naturally disappointed when the talks failed to bear fruit. PHRASE: V inflects 6. The first fruits or the first fruit of a project or activity are its earliest results or profits. This project is one of the first fruits of commercial co-operation between the two countries. PHRASE: oft PHR of n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

a word as used in Scripture denoting produce in general, whether vegetable or animal. The Hebrews divided the fruits of the land into three classes:,

(1.) The fruit of the field, "corn-fruit" (Heb. dagan); all kinds of grain and pulse.

(2.) The fruit of the vine, "vintage-fruit" (Heb. tirosh); grapes, whether moist or dried.

(3.) "Orchard-fruits" (Heb. yitshar), as dates, figs, citrons, etc.

Injunctions concerning offerings and tithes were expressed by these Hebrew terms alone (Num. 18:12; Deut. 14:23). This word "fruit" is also used of children or offspring (Gen. 30:2; Deut. 7:13; Luke 1:42; Ps. 21:10; 132:11); also of the progeny of beasts (Deut. 28:51; Isa. 14:29).

It is used metaphorically in a variety of forms (Ps. 104:13; Prov. 1:31; 11:30; 31:16; Isa. 3:10; 10:12; Matt. 3:8; 21:41; 26:29; Heb. 13:15; Rom. 7:4, 5; 15:28).

The fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23; Eph. 5:9; James 3:17, 18) are those gracious dispositions and habits which the Spirit produces in those in whom he dwells and works.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Produce (of the earth for the supply of man and animals), production, harvest, crop. 2. Product, result, consequence, effect, outcome. 3. Offspring, issue, young. 4. (Bot.) Matured ovary. 5. Edible succulent growth or product (of certain plants and agreeable flavor).

Moby Thesaurus

Catawba, Persian melon, Valencia orange, acorn, advantages, aftermath, akee, alligator pear, ananas, apple, apricot, artifact, auntie, avocado, banana, bear, bear fruit, bearberry, bearing, benefits, berry, bi-guy, bilberry, bird seed, bisexual, blackberry, brainchild, breed, bring forth, brood, bull dyke, bumper crop, butch, by-product, cacao, candleberry, canistel, cantaloupe, capulin, casaba, catamite, checkerberry, cherimoya, cherry, chicken, child, children, citrange, citron, citrus, citrus fruit, civet fruit, coinage, compensation, composition, concoction, consequence, consequences, consequent, corollary, crab apple, cranberry, creation, creature, crop, crowning achievement, currant, custard apple, damson, date, derivation, derivative, descendants, descent, deserts, development, dewberry, distillate, distillation, drupe, dyke, effect, elderberry, emolument, end product, essence, event, eventuality, eventuation, extract, fag, faggot, fairy, family, feijoa, femme, fig, flaxseed, flit, fricatrice, fructify, fruit cocktail, fruit compote, fruit soup, fruits, furnish, gooseberry, grain, grandchildren, grape, grapefruit, great-grandchildren, guanabana, guava, gunsel, handiwork, harvest, hayseed, heirs, homo, homophile, homosexual, homosexualist, honeydew, hostages to fortune, huckleberry, icaco, ilama, imbu, income, inheritors, invention, invert, issue, jaboticaba, jackfruit, jujube, kernel, kids, kumquat, legacy, lemon, lesbian, lime, lineage, lingonberry, linseed, litchi, little ones, loganberry, logical outcome, loquat, make, mammee apple, mandarin orange, mango, mangosteen, manufacture, manzanilla, marang, masterpiece, masterwork, mayapple, medlar, melon, mintage, mulberry, muscadine, muscat, muscatel, muskmelon, nance, navel orange, nectarine, new generation, new mintage, nut, nutmeg melon, offshoot, offspring, olive, opera, opus, opuscule, orange, origination, outcome, outgrowth, output, pansy, papaw, papaya, passion fruit, pathic, payment, peach, pear, persimmon, pineapple, pip, pippin, pit, plantain, plum, plumcot, pomegranate, posterity, precipitate, proceeds, produce, product, production, products, profits, progeny, prune, punk, queen, queer, quince, raisin, rambutan, raspberry, recompense, red currant, result, resultant, results, returns, rising generation, sapphist, second crop, seed, sequel, sequela, sequence, sequent, sons, stone, stone fruit, strawberry, succession, sugar apple, sugarplum, sweetsop, tangelo, tangerine, treasures, tribade, ugli fruit, upshot, vintage, work, yield, younglings, youngsters