pineapple

American  

[pahy-nap-uhl] / ˈpaɪˌnæp əl /

noun

1. the edible, juicy, collective fruit of a tropical, bromeliaceous plant, Ananas comosus, that develops from a spike or head of flowers and is surmounted by a crown of leaves.

2. the plant itself, having a short stem and rigid, spiny-margined, recurved leaves.

3. Military Slang. a fragmentation hand grenade.

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pineapple British  

/ ˈpaɪnˌæpəl /

noun

1. a tropical American bromeliaceous plant, Ananas comosus, cultivated in the tropics for its large fleshy edible fruit

2. the fruit of this plant, consisting of an inflorescence clustered around a fleshy axis and surmounted by a tuft of leaves

3. slang military a hand grenade

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Etymology

Origin of pineapple

1350–1400 for earlier sense; 1655–65 pineapple for def. 1; Middle English pinappel pine cone; pine ¹, apple

Example Sentences

The dry-aged grilled branzino was flaky and beautifully cooked, but the standout was the chicken al pastor, served with a fresh pineapple salad and pineapple butter—bright, savory, and just a little indulgent.

From Salon

Dad always used to keep a tin of the candy in the console of his car, and I’d always sneak outside and pick out the pineapple ones.

From Literature

Bananas, mangoes, pineapples and off-season berries and vegetables are all exposed to higher input costs, Lempert added, and consumers could pay between 5% and 20% more by the fall, depending on produce origin.

From MarketWatch

Brayen is allergic to dairy, banana, pineapple, peas, green beans, wheat, egg, soya, nuts and peanuts, kiwi, root vegetables and pea protein.

From BBC

Either of us can say “pineapple” to cut off a conversation we don’t want to have, but neither of us has had to use it for a while.

From Literature

Related Words

• ammunition
• bomb
• booby trap
• detonator
• dynamite
• gunpowder
• mine
• missile
• munition
• powder