ratoon

1 of 2

noun

ra·​toon ra-ˈtün How to pronounce ratoon (audio)
1
: a shoot of a perennial plant (such as sugarcane)
2
: a crop (as of bananas) produced on ratoons

ratoon

2 of 2

verb

ratooned; ratooning; ratoons

intransitive verb

: to sprout or spring up from the root

transitive verb

: to grow or produce (a crop) from or on ratoons

Examples of ratoon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Giant banana leaves, ratoons of sugar cane and bright orange guavas — set amid a jumble of sheds, trellises, fences and retaining walls — give the hill the look of a rural village carved from jungle. Joe Mozingo, latimes.com, 4 June 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ratoon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Spanish retoño, from retoñar to sprout, from re- (from Latin) + otoñar to grow in autumn, from otoño autumn, from Latin autumnus

First Known Use

Noun

1631, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1732, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of ratoon was in 1631

Dictionary Entries Near ratoon

Cite this Entry

“Ratoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ratoon. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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