Rhubarb

/ˈɹuːbɑːb/ adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Any plant of the genus Rheum, especially Rheum rhabarbarum, having large leaves and long green or reddish acidic leafstalks that are edible, in particular when cooked (although the leaves are mildly poisonous).
  • Grammar: rhubarb is listed as adj, noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: rhubarb plant, altercation, ambient chatter, apologetics.
  • Useful contrasts: silence.
  • Usage evidence: I like rhubarb tarts more than apricot tarts.

How to use "rhubarb"

  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 "rhubarb" 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 "rhubarb" 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 "rhubarb" as the right word for your sentence.

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Compare nearby meanings

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Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

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

2. Test the nearest option

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3. Confirm with context

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Final meaning check

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Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any plant of the genus Rheum, especially Rheum rhabarbarum, having large leaves and long green or reddish acidic leafstalks that are edible, in particular when cooked (although the leaves are mildly poisonous). countable, uncountable

    "If every the cultivation of Rhubarb in this kingdom becomes ſo extenſive as to ſuperſede the neceſſity of its importation; to the Society for the promotion of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, will the community be indebted for an advantage, the magnitude and importance of which cannot be too highly appreciated. From whatever cauſe, which it is unneceſſary here to inveſtigate, certain it is the conſumption of this valuable drug is increaſed, and continues to do ſo to a very great degree."

  2. 2
    General background noise caused by several simultaneous indecipherable conversations, which is created in films, stage plays, etc., by actors repeating the word rhubarb; hence, such noise in other settings. uncountable

    "It [the film The Picnic] wasn't actually a silent film; there were sound effects, but the dialogue was a rhubarb-ish series of grunts and mutters."

  3. 3
    long pinkish sour leafstalks usually eaten cooked and sweetened wordnet
  4. 4
    The leafstalks of common rhubarb or garden rhubarb (usually known as Rheum × hybridum), which are long, fleshy, often pale red, and with a tart taste, used as a food ingredient; they are frequently stewed with sugar and made into jam or used in crumbles, pies, etc. attributive, countable, often, uncountable

    "Rhubarb Tarts. Take the ſtalks off the rhubarb that grows in the garden, peel the ſkin off, and cut them the ſize of a gooſeberry, put them into china or earthen-ware patty-pans, with ſugar over them, and put on a paſte either puff or tart, ice them, and bake them the ſame as green gooſeberries, and they will eat like them."

  5. 5
    Nonsense; false utterance. UK, broadly, uncountable

    "MADAME JOURDAIN: No, it’s all complete rhubarb. MONSIEUR JOURDAIN: Dara dara bastonnara! He begins to dance and chant. MADAME JOURDAIN: Don’t think that’s going to make things any clearer."

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    plants having long green or reddish acidic leafstalks growing in basal clumps; stems (and only the stems) are edible when cooked; leaves are poisonous wordnet
  2. 7
    The dried rhizome and roots of Rheum palmatum (Chinese rhubarb) or Rheum officinale (Tibetan rhubarb), from China, used as a laxative and purgative. countable, uncountable

    "The running of the reines or gonorrhœa, which is an exceſſive and involuntary profuſion of ſperm, cauſed, by its proper vice, and that of the ſpermatick parts; it's cured, […] if the ſperm be hot & ſharp, by phlebotomy, rhubarb, myrobalans, ſuccory, the foure greater cold ſeeds, anointing the ſpine and loines, with refrigerating unguents, the cerot of ſaunders, and comitiſſæ; […]"

  3. 8
    An excited, angry exchange of words, especially at a sporting event. US, countable

    "Out in the bullpen, Chip Hilton and Soapy Smith had stopped throwing to watch the argument—what ballplayers call a "rhubarb.""

  4. 9
    A Royal Air Force World War II code name for operations by aircraft (fighters and fighter-bombers) involving low-level flight to seek opportunistic targets. British, countable, historical, uncountable

    "On 13 December 1942, Squadron Leader [Brian] Lane made his first flight from Ludham, a local familiarisation flight. That afternoon, he led a section of Spitfires low over the North Sea on a ‘Rhubarb’, a low-level sweep over the Dutch coast, looking for targets of opportunity."

  5. 10
    A brawl. US, broadly, countable

    "But damned if it don't seem like killin' him would stir up an even bigger political rhubarb. I mean, it ain't like nobody'd have to be told who did it."

  6. 11
    A ditch alongside a road or highway. countable, uncountable

    "Driving home yesterday, I almost hit the rhubarb."

Verb
  1. 1
    Of fighter aircraft: to fire at a target opportunistically. British
  2. 2
    Of an actor in a film, stage play, etc.: to repeat the word rhubarb to create the sound of indistinct conversation; hence, to converse indistinctly, to mumble. intransitive

    "At Rick's side our local Liberal Party Chairman is smacking his yeoman's paws together and rhubarbing ecstatically in Rick's ear."

  3. 3
    To articulate indistinctly or mumble (words or phrases); to say inconsequential or vague things because one does not know what to say, or to stall for time. transitive

    "Ordinarily this group of egos rhubarbed about matters as trivial as whose turn it was to order the next round, but tonight they were united in their project, and while men were killing one another all over the world, a strange peace had broken out among America's swim coaches."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of the colour of rhubarb: either brownish-yellow (the colour of rhubarb rhizomes and roots used for medicinal purposes), or pale red (often the colour of the leafstalks of common rhubarb). not-comparable

    "I just can't see her face. Sometimes I actually picture two enormous X's stamped over her eyes. Something from the Sunday comics. I change her hair color on a daily basis. She was a rhubarb blonde. No, she wasn't, she was a redhead and she had tortellini-like curls. She had straight brown hair. She was bald. Her skull gleamed with a kind of lunar sorrow."

Synonyms

All synonyms
rhubarb plantaltercationambient chatterapologeticsapologiaapology

Antonyms

silence

Example

"I like rhubarb tarts more than apricot tarts."

Common questions

What does "rhubarb" mean?

Any plant of the genus Rheum, especially Rheum rhabarbarum, having large leaves and long green or reddish acidic leafstalks that are edible, in particular when cooked (although the leaves are mildly poisonous).

What is a synonym for "rhubarb"?

Common synonyms include: rhubarb plant, altercation, ambient chatter, apologetics, apologia, apology.

How do you use "rhubarb" in a sentence?

I like rhubarb tarts more than apricot tarts.

How do you pronounce "rhubarb"?

Pronounced /ˈɹuːbɑːb/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English rubarbe, from Anglo-Norman reubarbe (modern French rhubarbe), from Late Latin reubarbarum, rheubarbarum, rubarbera, rybarba, probably from Koine Greek ῥῆον βάρβαρον (rhêon bárbaron), from ῥῆον (rhêon, “rhubarb”) + Ancient Greek βάρβαρον (bárbaron), neuter of βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “foreign; barbaric”) (English barbarian). There is also a Medieval Latin variant rabarbarum, which appears to be influenced by Ancient Greek ῥᾶ (rhâ, “rhubarb”), and gave rise to some of the forms in modern languages. The Ancient Greek variant term appears to have been folk-etymologically influenced by Ancient Greek Ῥᾶ (Rhâ, “the River Volga”), which is in the region from which the plant came to the Mediterranean. The ultimate origin of the Ancient Greek terms is, however, Proto-Iranian *(h)rabā́š (“rhubarb, fennel”). The word is cognate with Catalan ruibarbre, Italian rabarbaro, Dutch rabarber, German Rhabarber, Old Occitan reubarbe, Portuguese ruibarbo, Spanish ruibarbo.

Etymology 2

Attributed to the circa 1852 practice by the theatre company of English actor Charles Kean (1811–1868) at the Princess’s Theatre, London, of actors saying the word rhubarb repetitively to mimic the sound of indistinct conversation, the word having been chosen because it does not have harsh-sounding consonants or clear vowels. The baseball senses are said to have been coined by the American sports writer Garry Schumacher and popularized by the American baseball commentator Red Barber (1908–1992). Barber also claimed to have started using the word in the 1940s, based on the practice in “early radio dramas” (presumably in the US, circa 1930) of actors repetitively voicing rhubarb. However, unlike the UK usage, he felt the practice applied to muttering by an angry mob, and so applied the word to arguments on the baseball field where he could not distinguish the words.

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