- a creeping cucurbitaceous plant, Cucumis sativus, cultivated in many forms for its edible fruit
Compare squirting cucumber - the cylindrical fruit of this plant, which has hard thin green rind and white crisp flesh
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cu•cum•ber /ˈkyukʌmbɚ/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Plant Biology[countable] a creeping plant of the gourd family, occurring in many cultivated forms.
- Plant Biologythe edible fleshy green-skinned fruit of this plant: [countable]I cut up two cucumbers and added them to the salad.[uncountable]Do you think this salad will taste better with cucumber?
cu•cum•ber
(kyo̅o̅′kum bər),USA pronunciation n.
- Plant Biologya creeping plant, Cucumis sativus, of the gourd family, occurring in many cultivated forms.
- Plant Biologythe edible, fleshy fruit of this plant, of a cylindrical shape with rounded ends and having a green, warty skin.
- Plant Biologyany of various allied or similar plants.
- Plant Biologythe fruit of any such plant.
- Latin, as above
- Latin cucumer-, stem of cucumis; replacing Middle English, Old English cucumer
- Anglo-French, Old French co(u)combre
- Middle English cucumbre 1350–1400
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
cucumber /ˈkjuːˌkʌmbə/ n
'cucumber' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
borage
- choko
- cucurbit
- dill pickle
- pepo
- piccalilli
- pickle
- raita
- sea cucumber
- squirting cucumber
- tzatziki
- bread-and-butter pickle
- bur cucumber
- calabazilla
- colocynth
- compound Q
- Cornichon
- cucumber beetle
- cucumber mosaic
- cucumber root
- cucumber tree
- cuke
- gherkin
- gourd family
- Indian cucumber root
- large-leaved cucumber tree
- magnolia family
- pepino
- pickleworm
- rootworm
- zucchini