apple

noun

ap·​ple ˈa-pəl 

often attributive

1

: the fleshy, usually rounded red, yellow, or green edible pome fruit of a usually cultivated tree (genus Malus) of the rose family

also : an apple tree compare crab apple

2

: a fruit (such as a star apple) or other vegetative growth (such as an oak apple) suggestive of an apple

Phrases

apple of one's eye

: one that is highly cherished

his daughter is the apple of his eye

Examples of apple in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Anthony Caporale, Director of Spirits Education at the Institute of Culinary Education Glengoyne A Highland whisky known for its slow distillation and sherry cask influence, Glengoyne delivers a smooth and balanced profile with apple, honey, and spice. —Emily Price, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025

Key Ingredients: Castor oil, synthetic wax, titanium dioxide Finish: Natural Finish Shades: 8 How to apply: Swipe color onto the apples of your cheeks and lips. —Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 27 Feb. 2025

Inside the sub, researchers discovered a metal lunchbox packed with apples, thermoses of beef bouillon, and six bologna sandwiches, all remarkably well-preserved. —Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 26 Feb. 2025

This was perhaps unsurprising: Korean women have been known to berate their Vietnamese daughters-in-law for peeling apples in the wrong direction. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English appel, from Old English æppel; akin to Old High German apful apple, Old Irish ubull, Old Church Slavic ablŭko

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing apple

• Adam's apple
• apple butter
• apple-cheeked
• apple-knocker
• apple maggot
• apple-pie
• apple-polish
• apple scab
• (as) American as apple pie
• bad apple
• candy apple
• cedar-apple rust
• crab apple
• custard apple
• in apple-pie order
• lady apple
• love apple
• oak apple
• star apple
• sugar apple
• the apple of someone's eye
• thorn apple
• upset the apple cart

Rhymes for apple

• appal
• chapel
• dapple
• grapple
• pineapple

Kids Definition

apple

noun

ap·​ple ˈap-əl 

: a rounded fruit with a red, yellow, or green skin, firm white flesh and a seedy core

also : the tree of the rose family that bears this fruit

Medical Definition

apple

noun

ap·​ple ˈap-əl 

: the fleshy usually rounded and red, yellow, or green edible pome fruit of a tree (genus Malus) of the rose family

also : an apple tree