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: a one-seeded indehiscent fruit having a hard bony endocarp, a fleshy mesocarp, and a thin exocarp that is flexible (as in the cherry) or dry and almost leathery (as in the almond)
Examples of drupe in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Bright red drupes often remain well into October, accenting the foliage and attracting hungry songbirds to the autumn garden.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2024
Note: Sloes are a type of drupe (a stone fruit that is not a plum nor a berry) that tastes a lot like a cherry.
—Jeff Burkhart, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
Types of peppercorns Different types of peppercorns—green, black, and white—all start the same way: as a drupe, growing in clusters on a flowering vine of the plant Piper nigrum.
—Antara Sinha, Bon Appétit, 7 Jan. 2024
The tree is known for its aromatic, white-pinkish flowers pollinated by honeybees and grows fruit called a drupe which resembles a peach or plum.
—USA TODAY, 4 July 2023
Fruit is a one-fourth-inch shiny black drupe that is rarely eaten by birds.
—Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 17 Mar. 2023
Coconut is Not a Nut Technically speaking, a coconut is a fibrous one-seeded drupe.
—Elsbeth Sites, Discover Magazine, 12 Aug. 2014
Juicy peaches are part of the stone fruit, or drupe, family.
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Sep. 2022
But the monumental tree in the village of Vouves does more than make drupe fruit.
—Richard Stenger, CNN, 10 Feb. 2022
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Word History
Etymology
New Latin drupa, from Latin, overripe olive, from Greek dryppa olive
First Known Use
circa 1753, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near drupe
Cite this Entry
“Drupe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drupe. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
drupe
noun
: a fleshy fruit (as the plum, cherry, or peach) having one seed enclosed in a hard stony material
More from Merriam-Webster on drupe
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about drupe
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