From Spanish aguacate, from Nahuatl ahuacatl. Rich in healthy fats. Key ingredient in guacamole.
a pear-shaped tropical fruit with dark green or black bumpy skin, smooth pale green flesh, and a large pit
She spread mashed avocado on toast with a squeeze of lemon.
a small reddish-brown fruit (the Chinese date), crisp and apple-like when fresh, wrinkled like a date when dried
Dried jujubes are added to Chinese soups and teas.
Chinese 龍眼 ("dragon eye"): the dark seed shows through the pale flesh.
a small tropical fruit related to the lychee, with translucent sweet flesh and a dark seed
Longans taste like a milder, less perfumed lychee.
an orange tropical fruit that is sweet when ripe but very astringent when unripe
The persimmon was too tart to eat before it fully ripened.
a round fruit with tough red skin and many juicy, seed-filled arils inside
She sprinkled pomegranate seeds over the salad.
Named because the fruit grows in grape-like clusters. A hybrid of pomelo and orange. Notable: grapefruit interacts dangerously with many medications.
a large round citrus fruit with a yellow skin and slightly bitter flesh
He had a grapefruit for breakfast.
Short for "honeydew melon": a winter melon with smooth pale rind and sweet pale green flesh, milder than cantaloupe. Unrelated technical sense: the sugary secretion aphids leave on plant leaves.
a large melon with a smooth pale rind and sweet pale green flesh
She sliced a ripe honeydew for the fruit salad.
Banned in some hotels and transit systems for its smell.
a large, spiky tropical fruit with a strong smell and creamy flesh
Durian smells terrible but tastes sweet.
a large hard tropical fruit with white flesh and liquid inside
They served rice with coconut milk.
Short for "kiwifruit". Fuzzy brown skin covers bright green (sometimes gold) flesh with tiny black edible seeds.
a small oval fruit with fuzzy brown skin, green flesh, and tiny black seeds
She sliced a kiwi into her fruit salad.
Homophone of 'current'. Either a tiny dried grape or a small soft berry (blackcurrant, redcurrant).
a small dried grape used in baking
The scones were dotted with currants.
a small round soft berry such as a blackcurrant or redcurrant
She picked redcurrants from the bush.
Both are dried grapes used in baking, but they come from different grape varieties and differ mainly in size, sweetness, and tartness - the baking sense of currant has nothing to do with the unrelated fresh blackcurrant/redcurrant berry that shares the same name.
The fruit of the passionflower vine.
a round tropical fruit with a tough rind and tart, seedy, aromatic pulp
She drizzled passion fruit pulp over the cheesecake.
Also called pitaya or pitahaya; grows on a climbing cactus.
a tropical fruit with bright pink or yellow skin and white or red speckled flesh
The dragon fruit had a mild, slightly sweet flavor.
Variant spelling of lychee; the fruit is common in East and Southeast Asian cuisines.
a small sweet tropical fruit with rough red skin
The dessert was topped with chilled litchis.
Native to South America. Named for resembling a pine cone. Hawaiian pizza famously features pineapple.
a large juicy tropical fruit with a tough segmented skin and sweet yellow flesh
He sliced the pineapple for the fruit salad.
Also figurative: "plum job" = highly desirable job (something choice/desirable). "Plum tomato": oval variety.
a soft round fruit with a stone
She picked a ripe plum.
"Fig leaf": biblical (Adam and Eve covering themselves); figurative for token concealment. "Fig Newton": popular US cookie. "Don't give a fig" = don't care.
a soft sweet fruit with many small seeds
She had figs and cheese for dessert.
(countable, also "mandarin orange") a small, easy-to-peel citrus fruit similar to a tangerine
She bought a bag of mandarins at the farmer's market.
Named after the port of Tangier, Morocco, from which they were shipped to Europe in the 1840s. A type of mandarin orange. Also used as a color name (bright orange).
a small sweet citrus fruit with loose orange skin
She peeled a tangerine for the children.
From Spanish "guayaba", originally from Arawak. Tropical fruit, often pink or white inside. Popular in Latin American and Asian cuisines.
a tropical fruit with green skin and pink or white flesh
She ate fresh guava for breakfast.
Three distinct senses below; the citrus is most common.
a small green citrus fruit with sour juice
She squeezed lime over the tacos.