gourd

noun

ˈgȯrd  ˈgu̇rd 

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

… 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

see also out of one's gourd

Examples of gourd in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ackerman and his crew pick around 30,000 gourds by hand every harvest, planted over 30 acres. —Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 23 Oct. 2024

According to Hunter Evans, executive chef and owner of Elvie's and The Mayflower Cafe in Jackson, Mississippi, replacing the pumpkin entirely with a bolder gourd is also a viable option. —Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 24 Nov. 2024

These large, yellow gourds usually weigh two to three pounds. —Bethany Thayer, Detroit Free Press, 9 Nov. 2024

Place one pumpkin and two gourds on your dining table or kitchen island for a touch of fall magic. —Jené Luciani Sena, Fox News, 6 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gourde, from Anglo-French gurde, gourde, from Latin cucurbita

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing gourd

• bottle gourd
• buffalo gourd
• out of one's gourd

Kids Definition

gourd

noun

ˈgō(ə)rd  ˈgȯ(ə)rd 

ˈgu̇(ə)rd

1

: any of a family of tendril-bearing vines (as the cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin)

2

: the usually hard-shell many-seeded fruit of a gourd

gourdlike

-ˌlīk

adjective