grapefruit
Meanings
Plural: grapefruit, grapefruits
Noun
- citrus tree bearing large round edible fruit having a thick yellow rind and juicy somewhat acid pulp
- large yellow fruit with somewhat acid juicy pulp; usual serving consists of a half
- The tree of the species Citrus paradisi, a hybrid of Citrus maxima and sweet orange.
- The large spherical tart fruit produced by this tree.
- Large breasts; by extension, a woman with large breasts.
Origin / 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".
Synonyms
breasts, Citrus paradisi, Citrus sinensis × Citrus grandis, Citrus sinensis × Citrus maxima, Citrus × paradisi, forbidden fruit, grapefruit tree, pomelo, shaddock
Scrabble Score: 16
grapefruit is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordgrapefruit is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
grapefruit is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary