broccoli

[ brok-uh-lee, brok-lee ]

noun

1. a form of a cultivated cruciferous plant, Brassica oleracea botrytis, whose leafy stalks and clusters of usually green buds are eaten as a vegetable.

broccoli

/ ˈbrɒkəlɪ /

noun

1. a cultivated variety of cabbage, Brassica oleracea italica , having branched greenish flower heads
2. the flower head of this plant, eaten as a vegetable before the buds have opened
3. a variety of this plant that does not form a head, whose stalks are eaten as a vegetable

Word History and Origins

Origin of broccoli¹

1690–1700; < Italian, plural of broccolo, equivalent to brocc ( o ) sprout (< Late Latin; broach ) + -olo diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of broccoli¹

C17: from Italian, plural of broccolo a little sprout, from brocco sprout, spike; see brocade

Example Sentences

It was just so funny to switch gears and go into academia and hear just the day-to-day drudgery of being on campus and see the little signs of, “Don’t heat broccoli in the microwave, it stinks up the whole office.”

From Los Angeles Times

Speaking of sides and accompaniments, you need some color: A sheet pan overflowing with a mix of vegetables like acorn squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli/broccolini, Brussel sprouts or anything else that looks good is always beautiful.

From Salon

A 64-year-old man named Jorge Velazquez, who described himself as having spent many years working with his hands "hunched over picking strawberries and cutting broccoli," asked Trump who he thought was going to do this type of work if he deported all the undocumented workers who account for most of the agricultural workforce.

From Salon

On a more material level, I have to wonder how everyone's going to like the prices at the grocery store when strawberries and broccoli are necessarily selling at 20 times what they cost today from the combination of labor shortages and tariffs on imported food.

From Salon

Farmscape usually maintains the raised bed gardens they create, visiting the sites weekly to keep everything tidy, but Angel was so invested in doing the gardening herself that McLaughlin says her crews only come a couple times a year now to do seasonal maintenance such as helping her “flip” the beds from a summer garden of tomatoes, peppers, chard, basil and cucumbers to a winter garden heavy with greens, broccoli and sugar snap peas.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• sauerkraut