broccoli

[ brok-uh-lee, brok-lee ]
See synonyms for broccoli on Thesaurus.com
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.

Origin of broccoli

1
1690–1700; <Italian, plural of broccolo, equivalent to brocc(o) sprout (<Late Latin; see broach) + -olo diminutive suffix

Words Nearby broccoli

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use broccoli in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for broccoli

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

  1. a variety of this plant that does not form a head, whose stalks are eaten as a vegetable

Origin of broccoli

1
C17: from Italian, plural of broccolo a little sprout, from brocco sprout, spike; see brocade

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012