spinach
Americannoun
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a plant, Spinacia oleracea, cultivated for its edible, crinkly or flat leaves.
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the leaves.
noun
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a chenopodiaceous annual plant, Spinacia oleracea, cultivated for its dark green edible leaves
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the leaves of this plant, eaten as a vegetable
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spinach
First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English spinache, spinage, spinarch, from Anglo-French spinache, from Old French espinache, espinage, espinoche, from Medieval Latin spinargium, spinachium, spinarchium, ultimately from Arabic isfānākh, isfināj, perhaps from Persian isfānāj, ispānāk, aspānāk
Explanation
Spinach is a leafy green edible plant. The most famous spinach eater is probably Popeye, the cartoon sailor who grows huge, strong arm muscles after eating it. There are many different ways to prepare spinach, from raw in a salad to sauteed with spices and cheese in the Indian dish saag paneer. If you don't pick a spinach plant's leaves, it sprouts white flowers and grows almost a foot tall. Spinach comes from the Old French espinache, with its Persian root, aspanakh — both also mean "spinach."
Vocabulary lists containing spinach
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He noted, for instance, the E. coli outbreak in spinach in 2006 dampened sales for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Some smaller restaurants last week threw out lettuce, greens and bagged salad mixes; pulled salads and raw vegetables from menus; or only served greens like spinach that had been cooked.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
The findings suggest that, under specific conditions, sugary chewing gum can help the body make better use of dietary nitrate found in foods such as beetroot, spinach, and kale.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
Try adding veggies like fresh spinach to your sauce, or using pizza sauce or pesto instead of marinara.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
Calamity followed Finn as he weeded and watered their puny half acre of new vegetables—asparagus, kale, onion, beans, carrots, spinach, beets, broccoli, tomatoes.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
