pineapple

/ˌpaɪˈnæpəl/

/ˈpaɪnæpəl/

Other forms: pineapples

A pineapple is a sweet tropical fruit with a tough leathery skin and spiky leaves on top. Pineapple is excellent, whether eaten as a snack, in a sweet dessert, in savory dishes like fried rice, or even on pizza.

The word pineapple was first used to mean "pine cone," and the fruit was given this name because of its (slight) resemblance to a large pine cone. Pineapples are more commonly called ananas in other parts of the world, from the Tupi nanas, or "excellent fruit." Images of pineapples are commonly used to represent hospitality.

Definitions of pineapple

1. noun

   a tropical American plant bearing a large fleshy edible fruit with a terminal tuft of stiff leaves; widely cultivated in the tropics
   synonyms: Ananas comosus, pineapple plant

   type of:

   herb, herbaceous plant

   a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
2. noun

   large sweet fleshy tropical fruit with a terminal tuft of stiff leaves; widely cultivated
   synonyms: ananas

   type of:

   edible fruit

   edible reproductive body of a seed plant especially one having sweet flesh