Apple

/ˈæp.əl/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; The fruit of the tree Malus domestica, chiefly with a green, red, or yellow skin, cultivated in temperate climates for cidermaking, cooking, and eating.
  • Grammar: apple is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: berry, ebony, edible fruit, elma.
  • Usage evidence: There is one apple on the desk.

How to use "apple"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "apple" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "apple" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "apple" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "apple" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "apple" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "berry" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "apple", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; The fruit of the tree Malus domestica, chiefly with a green, red, or yellow skin, cultivated in temperate climates for cidermaking, cooking, and eating.

    "All apples eaten ſoone after yͭ they be gathered, are cold, hard to digeſt, and do make ill and corrupted bloud, but being wel kept vntill yͤ next winter, or the year folowing, eatẽ [eaten] after meales, they are right holeſome, & doe confyrme the ſtomacke, & make good digeſtion, ſpecially if they be roſted or baked, […]"

  2. 2
    A computer produced by the company Apple Inc.

    "Arthur bought the Apple anyway. Over a few days he also acquired some astronomical software, plotted the movements of stars, drew rough little diagrams of how he seemed to remember the stars to have been […]"

  3. 3
    fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh wordnet
  4. 4
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; Often with a qualifying word: any fruit or vegetable, or any other thing (such as a cone or gall) produced by a plant, especially if from a tree and similar to the fruit of Malus domestica (noun sense 1.1).

    "custard apple    rose apple    thorn apple"

  5. 5
    native Eurasian tree widely cultivated in many varieties for its firm rounded edible fruits wordnet
Show 17 more definitions
  1. 6
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; Something which resembles the fruit of Malus domestica (noun sense 1.1) in shape (such as a ball, breast, or globe) or colour.

    "[H]old a round ball or hollovv apple of glaſſe full of vvater againſt the Sunne, it vvill be ſo hot, that it is ready to burne any cloth that it toucheth."

  2. 7
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; Something which resembles the fruit of Malus domestica (noun sense 1.1) in shape (such as a ball, breast, or globe) or colour.; Ellipsis of Adam's apple (“the lump in the throat, usually more noticeable in men than in women; the laryngeal prominence”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

    "The sweat of fear and exertion was streaming down his face and chest, and his breath came in short, tearing, hard-drawn gasps and gulps, while the apple in his throat leaped up and down ceaselessly like a ball balanced on a dancing jet of water."

  3. 8
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; Something which resembles the fruit of Malus domestica (noun sense 1.1) in shape (such as a ball, breast, or globe) or colour.; Ellipsis of apple-green (“a bright green colour with a light tint of yellow, like that of a Granny Smith apple”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
  4. 9
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; Something which resembles the fruit of Malus domestica (noun sense 1.1) in shape (such as a ball, breast, or globe) or colour.; Ellipsis of apple of the eye (“the pupil, or pupil and iris, of the eye, originally believed to be spherical; also, the eyeball”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, historical

    "None have their eies all of one colour: for the ball or apple in the middeſt is ordinarily of another colour than the vvhite about it."

  5. 10
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; Something which resembles the fruit of Malus domestica (noun sense 1.1) in shape (such as a ball, breast, or globe) or colour.; The round, fleshy part of a cheek between the eye and the corner of the mouth when a person is smiling. informal
  6. 11
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; Something which resembles the fruit of Malus domestica (noun sense 1.1) in shape (such as a ball, breast, or globe) or colour.; The surface of revolution of a circular arc of an angle greater than 180° rotated about the straight line passing through the arc's two endpoints.
  7. 12
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; Something which resembles the fruit of Malus domestica (noun sense 1.1) in shape (such as a ball, breast, or globe) or colour.; In full apple bowl: a round bowl of a tobacco pipe; also, a tobacco pipe with such a bowl.
  8. 13
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; Something which resembles the fruit of Malus domestica (noun sense 1.1) in shape (such as a ball, breast, or globe) or colour.; In full old apple: a baseball. obsolete, slang

    "Hey Dad! What do you say we toss the old apple around, huh? Sound like fun?"

  9. 14
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; According to postbiblical Christian tradition, the fruit of the tree of knowledge which was eaten by Adam and Eve despite God commanding them not to do so; the forbidden fruit.

    "Him [man] by fraud I [Satan] have ſeduc'd / From his Creator, and the more to increaſe / Your vvonder, vvith an Apple; […]"

  10. 15
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; Synonym of pome (“a type of fruit in which the often edible flesh arises from the swollen base of the flower and not from the carpels”). obsolete
  11. 16
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; An imaginary diminutive unit of height. Internet, humorous

    "He's only three apples tall"

  12. 17
    A tree of the genus Malus; especially Malus domestica which is cultivated for its edible fruit; the apple tree.

    "Trees that beare Maſt, and Nuts, are commonly more laſting, than thoſe that beare Fruits; Eſpecially the Moiſter Fruits: As Oakes, Beeches, Cheſ-nuts, VVall-nuts, Almonds, Pine-Trees, &c. laſt longer than Apples, Peares, Plums, &c."

  13. 18
    Synonym of applewood (“the wood of the apple tree”).
  14. 19
    A person. broadly, often, slang

    "“I saw a little guy with a can opener fooling around that gum machine,” was the reply. “And then?” asked McGonigle. “I can’t say,” replied the poor apple."

  15. 20
    Synonym of CBer (“a CB radio enthusiast”). broadly, slang

    "Because of overcrowding, many a CB enthusiast (called an "apple") is strapping an illegal linear amplifier ("boots") on to his transceiver ("ears") which is limited by the Federal Communications Commission ("Big Daddy" in the US) to an output power of no more than five watts."

  16. 21
    An assist. broadly, slang
  17. 22
    A Native American or redskinned person who acts or thinks like a white (Caucasian) person. US, broadly, derogatory, ethnic, slang, slur

    "My ancestors five generations removed were "apples" who were "White" on the inside and "Red" on the outside. […] We need a new breed of "apples.""

Verb
  1. 1
    To make (something) appear like an apple (noun noun sense 1.1). transitive

    "To choose responsibly, our active citizen must know what is being offered, much of this knowledge being filtered through appearance: things must look what they are supposed to be. Apples must look like applies. One might say they have to be appled-up; varieties are selected for marketing which have the most apple-like qualities."

  2. 2
    To become like an apple. intransitive

    "He glanced at me, his cheeks appled in the impish grin I was learning to recognise as the clever under-side of his broad and gentle smile."

  3. 3
    To collect fir-cones. UK, dialectal, intransitive, rare
  4. 4
    Of a flower bud or vegetable (especially a root vegetable): to grow into the shape of an apple. dialectal, intransitive

    "As for Scolymus [possibly type of artichoke?], it differeth from the reſt of theſe Thiſtles herein, That the root, if it be ſodden, it is good to be eaten: beſides, it hath a ſtraunge nature, for all the ſort of them during the Summer throughout, never reſt and give over, but either they floure, or they apple, or els be readie to bring foorth fruit: […]"

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Nickname for New York City: a major city in New York, United States; more commonly in the form the Big Apple. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    A female given name from English. countable, rare
  3. 3
    A surname. countable

Synonyms

All synonyms
berryebonyedible fruitelmafruitmalus domestica tree

Example

"There is one apple on the desk."

Common questions

What does "apple" mean?

A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.; The fruit of the tree Malus domestica, chiefly with a green, red, or yellow skin, cultivated in temperate climates for cidermaking, cooking, and eating.

What is a synonym for "apple"?

Common synonyms include: berry, ebony, edible fruit, elma, fruit, malus domestica tree.

How do you use "apple" in a sentence?

There is one apple on the desk.

How do you pronounce "apple"?

Pronounced /ˈæp.əl/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl Proto-Germanic *aplaz Proto-West Germanic *applu Old English æppel Middle English appel English apple The noun is derived from Middle English appel (“Malus domestica fruit or tree, apple; any type of fruit, nut, or tuber; tree bearing fruit; (figurative) ball, sphere; (Christianity) forbidden fruit in Eden”), from Old English æppel (“apple; any type of fruit; (figurative) ball, sphere; eyeball”), from Proto-West Germanic *applu (“apple; any type of fruit”), from Proto-Germanic *aplaz (“apple; any type of fruit”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl, *h₂ébl̥ (“apple”). As regards noun sense 1.4 (“forbidden fruit”), the type of fruit eaten by Adam and Eve is not identified in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. It may have come to be identified with the apple because of the similarity between Latin mālum (“apple”) and malum (“evil; misery, torment; wrongdoing”). The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates Cognate with Scots aipple (“apple”), North Frisian aapel, Oapel, ååpel (“apple”), Saterland Frisian Apel, Appel (“apple”), West Frisian apel, appel (“apple”), Alemannic German effél, epfel, epfil, öpfil (“apple”), Bavarian eipfele, epfl, Åpfe (“apple”), Cimbrian oupfal, öpfel, öpfl (“apple”), Dutch appel (“apple”), German Apfel (“apple”), German Low German Appel (“apple”), Limburgish Ape̩l, appel (“apple”), Luxembourgish Apel (“apple”), Mòcheno epfl (“apple”), Vilamovian epuł (“apple”), Yiddish עפּל (epl, “apple”), Danish æble (“apple”), Faroese epl, epli (“apple; potato”), Icelandic epli (“apple”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk eple (“apple”), Swedish äpple (“apple”), Crimean Gothic apel (“apple”), Irish úll (“apple”), Lithuanian óbuolỹs (“apple”), Russian я́блоко (jábloko, “apple”), Welsh afal (“apple”), possibly Ancient Greek ἄμπελος (ámpelos, “vine”).

Etymology 2

From apple. As a surname, also an Americanized form of Appel or Apfel.

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Synonyms

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