plural gourds
1
: any of a family (Cucurbitaceae, the gourd family) of chiefly herbaceous tendril-bearing vines including the cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin
2
: the fruit of a gourd : pepo
especially
: any of various hard-rinded inedible fruits of plants of two genera (Lagenaria and Cucurbita) often used for ornament or for vessels and utensils
Walking through the various barrios, you might see people sharing sips from a little gourd with a straw in it. —
Bruce Sanderson
Bruce Sanderson … a basketball-size gourd draped with a veil of wooden beads—to incite individual bursts of improvisation from the orchestra's players. —The New Yorker
The New Yorker see also out of one's gourd
Examples of gourd in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Protecting Your Pumpkins Keep insects and animals away from your pumpkins, especially those that have been opened up and carved, by coating the gourds in a generous spray of hairspray.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 5 Jan. 2025
Tribal members dressed in their finest regalia–silver, turquoise, coral, shell, feathers–shake gourd rattles in a ring enclosing the Deer Dancers and two Deer Maidens.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
Though one other gourd had come close—Californian Brandon Dawson’s 2,465-pound pumpkin—Gienger’s cinched the lead.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
The traditional cup is brown and made of a hollowed calabash gourd, but can be made of metal, ceramic or wood.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 15 Jan. 2025
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Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 5 Jan. 2025
Tribal members dressed in their finest regalia–silver, turquoise, coral, shell, feathers–shake gourd rattles in a ring enclosing the Deer Dancers and two Deer Maidens.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
Though one other gourd had come close—Californian Brandon Dawson’s 2,465-pound pumpkin—Gienger’s cinched the lead.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
The traditional cup is brown and made of a hollowed calabash gourd, but can be made of metal, ceramic or wood.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gourd
Cite this Entry
“Gourd.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gourd. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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