apple

noun

A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.

The fruit of the tree Malus domestica, chiefly with a green, red, or yellow skin, cultivated in temperate climates for cidermaking, cooking, and eating.

A tree of the genus Malus; especially Malus domestica which is cultivated for its edible fruit; the apple tree.

Something which resembles the fruit of Malus domestica (noun, sense 1.1) in shape (such as a ball, breast, or globe) or colour.

(Christianity) According to postbiblical Christian tradition, the fruit of the tree of knowledge which was eaten by Adam and Eve despite God commanding them not to do so; the forbidden fruit.

(informal) The round, fleshy part of a cheek between the eye and the corner of the mouth when a person is smiling.

Often with a qualifying word: any fruit or vegetable, or any other thing (such as a cone or gall) produced by a plant, especially if from a tree and similar to the fruit of Malus domestica (noun, sense 1.1).

Synonym of applewood (“the wood of the apple tree”).

(by extension, slang) (often with qualifying word) A person.

(by extension, slang) (amateur radio) Synonym of CBer (“a CB radio enthusiast”).

(by extension, slang) (ice hockey) An assist.

(by extension, slang) (US, derogatory, ethnic slur) A Native American or redskinned person who acts or thinks like a white (Caucasian) person.

(Internet slang, humorous) An imaginary diminutive unit of height.

(geometry) The surface of revolution of a circular arc of an angle greater than 180° rotated about the straight line passing through the arc's two endpoints.

(smoking) In full apple bowl: a round bowl of a tobacco pipe; also, a tobacco pipe with such a bowl.

A computer produced by the company Apple Inc.

(with the) Nickname for New York City: a major city in New York, United States; more commonly in the form the Big Apple.

(countable) A surname.

Ellipsis of Adam's apple (“the lump in the throat, usually more noticeable in men than in women; the laryngeal prominence”). [(anatomy) The lump in the throat, usually more noticeable in men than in women; the laryngeal prominence.]

Ellipsis of apple-green (“a bright green colour with a light tint of yellow, like that of a Granny Smith apple”). [A bright green colour with a light tint of yellow, like that of a Granny Smith apple.]

(obsolete, baseball, slang) In full old apple: a baseball.

(obsolete, botany) Synonym of pome (“a type of fruit in which the often edible flesh arises from the swollen base of the flower and not from the carpels”).

(rare, countable) A female given name from English.

(historical) Ellipsis of apple of the eye (“the pupil, or pupil and iris, of the eye, originally believed to be spherical; also, the eyeball”). [The pupil, or pupil and iris, of the eye, originally believed to be spherical; also, the eyeball.]

verb

(transitive) To make (something) appear like an apple (noun noun, sense 1.1).

(intransitive) To become like an apple.

(intransitive) (UK, dialectal, rare) To collect fir-cones.

(intransitive) (obsolete except UK, dialectal) Of a flower bud or vegetable (especially a root vegetable): to grow into the shape of an apple.

Roots

aeppelapple- · Old English · apple

Synonyms & related words for apple

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of apple. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to apple

Explore words related to apple — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include pomiferous, pome, orchards, pandowdy, pears, blackberrying, manchineel, macs. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does apple come from?

The word apple breaks down into one root of Old English origin: the root apple-, from Old English aeppel (“apple”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.