eggplant

noun

egg·​plant ˈeg-ˌplant 

ˈāg-

1

a

: a widely cultivated perennial Asian herb (Solanum melongena) of the nightshade family yielding edible fruit

b

: the usually smooth ovoid typically blackish-purple or white fruit of the eggplant

2

: a dark grayish or blackish purple

Examples of eggplant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Some gallery walls are glazed in deep hues (reddish and eggplant), and the intensity of the color is jarring at first. —Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026

Signature dishes include pork buns, shumai, shrimp dumplings, claypot eggplant and Singaporean butter prawns. —Jonathan Shikes, Denver Post, 21 Apr. 2026

Favorite cultivars include ‘Blackbeard’ with eggplant foliage and lilac purple flowers, and Quartz Rose with red flowers that rebloom throughout the season. —Teresa Woodard, Midwest Living, 21 Apr. 2026

The crops this summer include eggplant, tomatoes, onions, cluster beans, groundnuts and even cotton. —Kamala Thiagarajan, NPR, 19 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1767, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing eggplant

• Japanese eggplant

Rhymes for eggplant

• decant
• descant
• enchant
• explant
• implant
• preplant
• recant
• replant
• secant
• supplant
• transplant
• ant

Kids Definition

eggplant

noun

egg·​plant -ˌplant 

1

: a widely cultivated herb that is related to the potato and yields edible fruit

2

: the usually glossy blackish purple egg-shaped fruit of an eggplant