Grapefruit Meaning
/ˈɡɹeɪ̯pfɹuːt/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe tree of the species Citrus paradisi, a hybrid of Citrus maxima and sweet orange.
nounThe large spherical tart fruit produced by this tree.
Sentence Examples
I prefer grapefruit to oranges.
Tom doesn't like grapefruit.
The bag was about the size of a grapefruit.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She cut the large ____ in half and added sugar on top.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She likes to eat a half of a ____ for breakfast, although she sometimes adds a little sugar to cut the bitterness.
Word Origin & History
Widely assumed to be a marketing term from grape + fruit, an allusion to the supposed grapelike clusters of fruit on the tree, early 19th c. Ciardi proposes another theory: one of the pomelo's botanical names is Citrus grandis, meaning “great citrus [fruit]”, due to the size of its fruit. A new pomelo variety might first have been called a GRAYT-froot (see greatfruit), and through the process of assimilation, the word came to be pronounced GRAYP-froot.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Results have begun to come in and at Comfort Castle this month I spent a useful and happy half day carting round 8 children in my car to their homes where we all helped to fill in with good soil and manure, their excellently dug holes and planted the grapefruit."
— 1932, The Farmer, page 64:
"Grapefruit is high in vitamin C. The pink and red varieties contain vitamin A (betacarotene) and lycopene, an antioxidant that may help prevent cancer. Grapefruit contains a chemical that can alter intestinal absorption of some medications and lead to higher than normal blood levels of some drugs and potential problems."
— 2002, “Fruits”, in Encyclopedia of Foods: A Guide to Healthy Nutrition, Academic Press, →ISBN, part II (Encyclopedia of Foods), page 176, column 3:
"Once loaded by Canaveral, the grapefruit are transported to Japan, where the shipments are unloaded by employees of Japanese stevedoring companies. The grapefruit are then received by the Japanese importers."
— 2002, NLRB Advice Memorandum Reporter, Labor Relations Press, page 100:
"Dan hauled her to the carpet as she fell limp over him. She stretched out on her back, her grapefruits, fitted snugly into her sturdy cotton bra, rock hard under his nose."
— 1993, Leandra Logan, Joyride, Harlequin Books, page 162:
"In walked my supposedly dead niece Esmerelda wearing shorts that didn't exist and a top that made her grapefruits look like honeydews, if you get my drift."
— 1997, Paul Dennithorne Johnston, “Boiling Creek: The G.S. Detective, Part II”, in Delphus David Bourland, Paul Dennithorne Johnston, editors, E-Prime III!: A Third Anthology, International Society for General Semantics, page 357:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She cut the large ____ in half and added sugar on top.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She likes to eat a half of a ____ for breakfast, although she sometimes adds a little sugar to cut the bitterness.