celery

noun

cel·​ery ˈse-lə-rē 

ˈsel-rē

plural celeries

: a European herb (Apium graveolens) of the carrot family

specifically : one of a cultivated variety (A. graveolens var. dulce) with leafstalks eaten raw or cooked

Examples of celery in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Use celery in cold salads like pasta, kale, or chicken salad. —Nancy Lebrun, Verywell Health, 12 July 2024

Tyler Harper, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Agriculture, said at the news conference that the celery was destroyed after the bust because it could have been contaminated by meth. —Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 14 Aug. 2024

The celery is too often overlooked at the farmers market. —Esteban L. Hernandez, Axios, 11 Aug. 2024

Apart from melons, other water-rich foods include strawberries, cabbage, celery, and spinach.5 3. —Anthea Levi, Health, 6 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French céleri (17th-century celeris, sceleri, Middle French scellerin), borrowed from an Upper Italian form (as Ligurian sèlarʼu, Lombard sèleri), altered from Vulgar Latin *selinum (Late Latin selīnon), borrowed from Greek sélīnon, perhaps from a pre-Greek substratal language

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing celery

• celery cabbage
• celery root
• wild celery

Kids Definition

celery

noun

cel·​ery ˈsel-(ə-)rē 

plural celeries

: a European herb related to the carrot and widely grown for the thick edible stems

also : the stems of celery used for food