ENGLISH
REFERENCE

vegetable

n. countable
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈvɛdʒtəbəɫ// UK //vˈɛdʒɪtəbəl// veg·etable Archaic General-service Slang Vulgar

n. a plant or part of a plant that you eat as food. People usually eat them in salads or cook them for dinner.

n. an edible plant or part of a plant, such as a root, leaf, or flower, typically consumed as part of a meal. Often distinguished from fruits in culinary contexts based on sweetness and usage.


SIMPLE

You should eat a green vegetable with every meal.

CONTEXTUAL

The local market sells a wide variety of fresh, organic vegetable options grown by farmers in the valley.

COMPLEX

While botanists classify tomatoes as fruits, the culinary world treats them as a vegetable due to their savory flavor profile and common inclusion in main courses.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English vegetable, from Old French vegetable, from Latin vegetābilis (“able to live and grow”), derived from vegetāre (“to enliven”). Displaced Old English wyrt and ofett. Related to vigil, vigour, vajra, and waker.

Usage

Commonly used as a collective noun in the plural form when referring to food in general.

Pitfall

I like to eat vegetable.I like to eat vegetables.When speaking about a food group in general, the plural form is required.

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