vegetable
a plant, root, seed, or pod that is used as food, especially in dishes that are not sweet
The potato is the most popular vegetable in Britain.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
vegetable
noun
a plant or part of a plant that we eat:
The students grow vegetables such as cabbages, beans and carrots.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
vegetable
I. vege‧ta‧ble1 S3 W3 /ˈvedʒtəbəl/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Medieval Latin; Origin: vegetabilis 'growing', from vegetare 'to grow', from Latin vegere 'to cause to act, excite']
1. a plant that is eaten raw or cooked, such as a ↑cabbage, a ↑carrot, or ↑peas:
fresh fruit and vegetables
organic methods of growing vegetables
vegetable soup
a neat vegetable garden
Vitamin A is found in liver and green vegetables.
salad vegetables (=vegetables such as ↑lettuce or ↑tomatoes eaten raw)
GRAMMAR
Vegetable is a countable noun, not an uncountable noun:
▪ They grew their own vegetables (NOT their own vegetable).
2. not polite an offensive word for someone who is alive but who cannot talk or move because their brain is damaged
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + vegetable
▪ fresh Fresh vegetables taste best immediately after they've been picked.
▪ raw Some vegetables are better eaten raw.
▪ organic (=grown without using chemicals) Most supermarkets sell organic fruit and vegetables.
▪ tinned/canned Do canned vegetables have as many vitamins as fresh ones?
▪ frozen packets of frozen vegetables
▪ green vegetables Eat plenty of green vegetables.
▪ leafy vegetables Leafy vegetables contain iron, which is good for the blood.
▪ root vegetables (=vegetables whose roots you eat, such as carrots) Excellent soups can be made from root vegetables.
▪ a salad vegetable (=a vegetable that is eaten raw in a salad) You can buy ready-prepared salad vegetables.
▪ baby vegetables (=vegetables that have not grown to their full size) Baby vegetables, especially carrots and corn, appeal to youngsters.
■ vegetable + NOUN
▪ vegetable soup I think I'll have the vegetable soup.
▪ vegetable stock (=a liquid in which vegetables have been cooked) Gently cook the mushrooms and onions in the vegetable stock.
▪ vegetable oil She uses vegetable oil instead of lard.
▪ a vegetable garden/patch/plot Anna was digging in the vegetable garden.
■ verbs
▪ grow vegetables If we had a garden, we could grow our own vegetables.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
vegetable
vege·table [vegetable vegetables] [ˈvedʒtəbl] [ˈvedʒtəbl] noun
1. (also informal veg·gie especially in NAmE) a plant or part of a plant that is eaten as food. Potatoes, beans and onions are all vegetables
• green vegetables (= for example cabbage )
• root vegetables (= for example carrots )
• a salad of raw vegetables
• a vegetable garden/patch/plot
• vegetable matter (= plants in general)
compare animal, fruit, mineral
2. (BrE also cab·bage) a person who is physically alive but not capable of much mental or physical activity, for example because of an accident or illness
• Severe brain damage turned him into a vegetable.
3. a person who has a boring life
• Since losing my job I've been a vegetable.
See also: cabbage ▪ veggie
Word Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘growing as a plant’): from Old French, or from late Latin vegetabilis ‘animating’, from Latin vegetare, from vegetus ‘active’, from vegere ‘be active’. The current sense dates from the late 16th cent.
Example Bank:
• The children don't eat enough green vegetables.
• They grow all their own vegetables.
• a salad of crisp, raw vegetables
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
vegetable / ˈvedʒ.tə.bl̩ / noun [ C ] ( US informal veggie ) (FOOD)
A1 a plant, root, seed, or pod that is used as food, especially in dishes that are not sweet:
fresh/frozen vegetables
vegetable soup/stew/curry
fruit and vegetables
The potato is the most popular vegetable in Britain.
In the winter we tend to eat more root vegetables, such as carrots and parsnips.
Raw vegetables contain more potassium than cooked ones.
a vegetable knife
→ Compare fruit noun (PLANT PART)
See picture vegetables 1
See picture vegetables 2
vegetable / ˈvedʒ.tə.bl̩ / noun (PERSON)
[ C ] informal a person who does not do anything or has no interest in doing anything:
Sitting at home all day in front of the TV slowly turned her into a vegetable.
[ C ] offensive a person who is unable to think or move correctly because of severe brain damage
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
vegetable
[ve̱ʤtəb(ə)l]
vegetables
1) N-COUNT Vegetables are plants such as cabbages, potatoes, and onions which you can cook and eat.
A good general diet should include plenty of fresh vegetables.
...traditional Caribbean fruit and vegetables.
...vegetable soup.
2) ADJ: usu ADJ n Vegetable matter comes from plants. [FORMAL]
...compounds, of animal, vegetable or mineral origin.
...decayed vegetable matter.
3) N-COUNT: usu sing If someone refers to a brain-damaged person as a vegetable, they mean that the person cannot move, think, or speak. [INFORMAL, OFFENSIVE]
Syn:
cabbage
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
vegetable
veg·e·ta·ble /ˈvɛʤtəbəl/ noun, pl -ta·bles [count]
1 : a plant or plant part that is eaten as food
• The doctor said I should eat more fruits and vegetables.
• a bowl of vegetable soup
• a vegetable garden
• vegetable oil
- see color picture
- see also root vegetable
2 sometimes offensive : a person who is unable to talk, move, etc., because of severe brain damage
• The accident had left him a vegetable.
- called also (Brit, informal) cabbage,
