gourd
Americannoun
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the hard-shelled fruit of any of various plants, especially those of Lagenaria siceraria white-flowered gourd, or bottle gourd, whose dried shell is used for bowls and other utensils, and Cucurbita pepo yellow-flowered gourd, used ornamentally.
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a plant bearing such a fruit.
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a dried and excavated gourd shell used as a bottle, dipper, flask, etc.
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a gourd-shaped, small-necked bottle or flask.
idioms
noun
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the fruit of any of various cucurbitaceous or similar plants, esp the bottle gourd and some squashes, whose dried shells are used for ornament, drinking cups, etc
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any plant that bears this fruit See also sour gourd dishcloth gourd calabash
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a bottle or flask made from the dried shell of the bottle gourd
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a small bottle shaped like a gourd
Other Word Forms
- gourd-shaped adjective
- gourdlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of gourd
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English gourd(e), courde, from Anglo-French ( Old French cöorde ), from Latin cucurbita
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.
The gourd was used as a buoyancy aid and a place to put the catch.
From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026
Plants in the gourd family, including pumpkins, melons, cucumbers, and zucchini, are known for accumulating high levels of pollutants in their fruit.
From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2025
While she prefers traditional orange, Torres isn’t afraid of a more ghostly gourd.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 26, 2025
A beaver’s tail creates a rhythm on the deck and an opossum has a bass fashioned out of a gourd.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2024
He would peer sleepily out of the gourd, gaze down, and then take a flying leap and land on the newcomer’s shoulders.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
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.
