grapefruit

C1 Topic:Food & Drink

US /ˈɡɹeɪpfɹut/ UK /ˈɡɹeɪpfɹuːt/ See IPA manual

Freq #17209

Meanings

1

noun
A large round citrus fruit with a thick yellow or pink skin and a slightly sour, juicy inside.

She eats half a grapefruit for breakfast every morning.
2

noun
The citrus tree that produces this fruit.

They planted a grapefruit in the corner of the garden.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a large round citrus fruit... pomeloshaddock

Word family

Forms grapefruits

Derived forms grapefruitadegrapefruitinigrapefruitlikegrapefruity

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

grapefruit juice
juice squeezed or extracted from grapefruit

Noun + noun

Etymology

Widely assumed to be a marketing term from grape + fruit, an allusion to the supposed grapelike clusters of fruit on the tree, early 19th c. Ciardi proposes another theory: one of the pomelo's botanical names is Citrus grandis, meaning "great citrus [fruit]", due to the size of its fruit. A new pomelo variety might first have been called a "greatfruit" (see greatfruit), and through the process of assimilation, the word came to be pronounced "grapefruit".

Topics

Food & Drink

External links

# grapefruit

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡɹeɪpfɹut/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡɹeɪpfɹuːt/
**Frequency rank:** 17209

## Meanings
1. A large round citrus fruit with a thick yellow or pink skin and a slightly sour, juicy inside.
2. The citrus tree that produces this fruit.

## Examples
- She eats half a grapefruit for breakfast every morning.
- They planted a grapefruit in the corner of the garden.

## Derived Forms
- grapefruitade
- grapefruitini
- grapefruitlike
- grapefruity

## Etymology
Widely assumed to be a marketing term from grape + fruit, an allusion to the supposed grapelike clusters of fruit on the tree, early 19th c. Ciardi proposes another theory: one of the pomelo's botanical names is Citrus grandis, meaning "great citrus [fruit]", due to the size of its fruit. A new pomelo variety might first have been called a "greatfruit" (see greatfruit), and through the process of assimilation, the word came to be pronounced "grapefruit".

## AI Etymology
Grapefruit has the etymology Widely assumed to be a marketing term from grape + fruit, an allusion to the supposed grapelike clusters of fruit on the tree, early 19th c. Ciardi proposes another theory: one of the pomelo's botanical names is Citrus grandis, meaning "great citrus [fruit]", due to the size of its fruit. A new pomelo variety might first have been called a "greatfruit" (see greatfruit), and through the process of assimilation, the word came to be pronounced "grapefruit". In present-day use, it can mean a large round citrus fruit with a thick yellow or pink skin and a slightly sour, juicy inside, or the citrus tree that produces this fruit. Derived formations include grapefruitade, grapefruitini, grapefruitlike, grapefruity.

## Topics
- Food & Drink

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