perishable

American  

[per-i-shuh-buhl] / ˈpɛr ɪ ʃə bəl /

adjective

1. subject to decay, ruin, or destruction.

   perishable fruits and vegetables.

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noun

1. Usually perishables. something perishable, especially food.

perishable British  

/ ˈpɛrɪʃəbəl /

adjective

1. liable to rot or wither

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noun

1. (often plural) a perishable article, esp food

Usage

What does perishable mean? Perishable is used to describe an item, usually food, that typically spoils within a relatively short amount of time, such as fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy products.Such items are often simply called perishables. (When used as a noun, the term is most commonly plural.)The term is often contrasted with nonperishables—food items that can be stored for a long time without spoiling, like dried grains, beans, and pasta.Perishable foods need to be specially stored (like in a refrigerator) or eaten relatively quickly. Nonperishables, on the other hand, are things that will last a long time without refrigeration or other special storage.Example: Let’s try to eat all the perishables before we go on vacation—we don’t want to come back to spoiled milk and rotting tomatoes.

Other Word Forms

• perishability noun
• perishableness noun
• perishably adverb
• unperishable adjective

Etymology

Origin of perishable

First recorded in 1605–15; perish + -able

Example Sentences

Both require skills and training that are perishable, and staffing needs that follow a large and predictable pattern of fluctuating demand by hour of the day, and the day of the week.

From Seattle Times

Whatever meats, ice creams and other perishables are leftover when he shuts down Sunday are going into the freezers, which he hopes will stay powered.

From Washington Post

“If you’re staying at home and there’s a prolonged outage, you want to use perishable food from the fridge first, then the freezer food,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

As a result, thousands of Afghans and Pakistanis are stuck at the border and hundreds of trucks loaded with perishable goods have been waiting to cross.

From Seattle Times

Concerns of food poisoning and botulism meant we had to throw out perishable food anywhere near its expiration date.

From New York Times