What does "coconut" mean?
A fruit of the coconut palm (not a true nut), Cocos nucifera, having a fibrous husk surrounding a large seed.
Coconut
/ˈkəʊ.kə.nʌt/ noun, slang
noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A fruit of the coconut palm (not a true nut), Cocos nucifera, having a fibrous husk surrounding a large seed.
- Grammar: coconut is listed as noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: brown, coco, coco palm, cocoa palm.
- Usage evidence: The drinks were served in coconut shells.
How to use "coconut"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "coconut" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- 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 "coconut" 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 "coconut" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "coconut" 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 "coconut" is acting as noun, 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 "brown" 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 "coconut", 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 A fruit of the coconut palm (not a true nut), Cocos nucifera, having a fibrous husk surrounding a large seed. countable, uncountable
"The Coco-nut Trees grow by the Sea, on the Weſtern ſide in great Groves, 3 or 4 Miles in length, and a Mile or two broad. This tree is in ſhape like the Cabbage-tree, and at a diſtance they are not to be known each from other, only the Coco-nut Tree is fuller of Branches ; but the Cabbage-tree generally is much higher, tho' the Coco-nut Trees in ſome places are very high."
- 2 large hard-shelled oval nut with a fibrous husk containing thick white meat surrounding a central cavity filled (when fresh) with fluid or milk wordnet
- 3 A hard-shelled seed of this fruit, having white flesh and a fluid-filled central cavity. countable, uncountable
- 4 the edible white meat of a coconut; often shredded for use in e.g. cakes and curries wordnet
- 5 The edible white flesh of this fruit. uncountable
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 tall palm tree bearing coconuts as fruits; widely planted throughout the tropics wordnet
- 7 The coconut palm. countable, uncountable
- 8 A member of any of various dark-skinned ethnic groups (e.g. Hispanic, South Asian, or black) who is considered to have overly assimilated to white culture:; A Hispanic or other dark-skinned person considered to have overly assimilated to white culture. US, countable, derogatory, ethnic, slur, uncountable
"After that I was regarded as comic. I became a ‘coconut’—someone brown on the outside, white on the inside. I was the bleached academic—more white than the anglo professors. In my classes several students glared at me, clearly seeing in me the person they feared ever becoming. Who was I, after all, but some comic Queequeg, holding close to my breast a reliquary containing the white powder of a dead European civilization?"
- 9 A member of any of various dark-skinned ethnic groups (e.g. Hispanic, South Asian, or black) who is considered to have overly assimilated to white culture:; A black person considered to have overly assimilated to white culture, a black race traitor. Australia, Kenya, South-Africa, countable, derogatory, ethnic, slur, uncountable
"Their convictions challenged those critics who dismissed John Githongo’s anti-corruption efforts as the naïve projection of inappropriate ‘mzungu’ values onto an African nation where they were doomed to fail. If John was a ‘coconut’, he certainly wasn’t the only coconut in Kenya."
- 10 A member of any of various dark-skinned ethnic groups (e.g. Hispanic, South Asian, or black) who is considered to have overly assimilated to white culture:; A Malay person who cannot speak Malay. Singapore, countable, derogatory, ethnic, slur, uncountable
- 11 A member of any of various dark-skinned ethnic groups (e.g. Hispanic, South Asian, or black) who is considered to have overly assimilated to white culture:; An Indian person who cannot speak Tamil. Malaysia, countable, derogatory, ethnic, slur, uncountable
- 12 A Pacific islander. New-Zealand, countable, derogatory, ethnic, slur, uncountable
- 13 A female breast. countable, slang, uncountable
"He compliments her erect posture and says her breasts look like big clusters of grapes hanging off a palm tree. You would expect him to say merely that he likes her big coconuts."
- 14 The human head. countable, slang, uncountable
"[Ashley J. Williams shoots a zombified version of the Winter Soldier in the head.] Dazzler: Oh my God...thank you! I-i-is he-- Ashley J. Williams: A double-barrel boomstick blast straight through the coconut? Trust me, babe--he's not comin' back from that one."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The drinks were served in coconut shells."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "coconut"?
Common synonyms include: brown, coco, coco palm, cocoa palm, cocoanut, coconut meat.
How do you use "coconut" in a sentence?
The drinks were served in coconut shells.
How do you pronounce "coconut"?
Pronounced /ˈkəʊ.kə.nʌt/.
Etymology
From coco + nut. In reference to assimilated Hispanic or black people, derived from the fruit's exotic origins. The slur originates from the idea that one is "brown on the outside, white on the inside". In reference to Polynesians, from the ubiquity of coconut palms in the area.