Carambola

//ˌkæɹəmˈbəʊlə// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A tree species native to southern Asia, Averrhoa carambola.

    "The carambola tree bears a sour fruit which makes a good tart, and there is a variety which bears a sweet fruit. The tree, though originally, it is said, from the Moluccas, flourishes well on this Coast, and is quite naturalized."

  2. 2
    deeply ridged yellow-brown tropical fruit; used raw as a vegetable or in salad or when fully ripe as a dessert wordnet
  3. 3
    The fruit of this tree, commonly known as star fruit.

    "She leans out of sight before coming back with a bowl of something—looks like sliced fresh carambola with salt and chili."

  4. 4
    East Indian tree bearing deeply ridged yellow-brown fruit wordnet
  5. 5
    A yellow colour, like that of a carambola.

Example

More examples

"The carambola tree bears a sour fruit which makes a good tart, and there is a variety which bears a sweet fruit. The tree, though originally, it is said, from the Moluccas, flourishes well on this Coast, and is quite naturalized."

Etymology

Presumably from Marathi करंबळ (karambaḷ), via Portuguese.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.