cabbage

n. a large, round vegetable with many green, white, or purple leaves that you can eat raw or cooked.

n. a cultivated plant of the species Brassica oleracea, characterized by a dense head of edible leaves.

“She chopped up a fresh cabbage to make a crunchy salad for dinner.”

“The traditional recipe calls for red cabbage braised slowly with vinegar and apples to balance the richness of the roast pork.”

n. a slang word for paper money.

n. a slang term for paper currency, likely derived from the green color of US banknotes.

“He made a lot of cabbage working overtime at the construction site.”

“In the local underworld, having enough cabbage was the only way to ensure loyalty among the lower-level associates.”

Slang · American English

v. to spend time doing nothing or resting in a lazy way.

v. to spend time in a state of physical or mental inactivity; to idle.

“After a long week at work, I just want to cabbage in front of the TV.”

“Rather than exploring the city, the exhausted tourists spent the entire afternoon cabbaging in the hotel lounge.”

Informal · British English

v. to steal small things, especially pieces of cloth or materials.

v. to pilfer or purloin, historically used in reference to tailors keeping scraps of cloth for themselves.

“The old stories tell of tailors who would cabbage enough silk to make their own clothes.”

“The apprentice was warned that any attempt to cabbage the expensive velvet would result in immediate dismissal from the workshop.”

Archaic · Informal