gourd

noun

ˈgȯrd  ˈgu̇rd 

plural gourds

1

: any of a family (Cucurbitaceae, the gourd family) of chiefly herbaceous tendril-bearing vines including the cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin

2

: the fruit of a gourd : pepo

especially : any of various hard-rinded inedible fruits of plants of two genera (Lagenaria and Cucurbita) often used for ornament or for vessels and utensils

Walking through the various barrios, you might see people sharing sips from a little gourd with a straw in it.

—Bruce Sanderson

… a basketball-size gourd draped with a veil of wooden beads—to incite individual bursts of improvisation from the orchestra's players.

—The New Yorker

see also:

out of one's gourd

Examples of gourd in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Dispose of Fall Decorations Seasonal decor like pumpkins and gourds also unintentionally invite an infestation of creepy crawlers. — Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 16 Oct. 2026

Other natural materials, such as gourds, hay, and cornstalks make for festive decor, but Wells suggests choosing materials from your local area to reduce the risk of introducing invasive plants or seeds. — Katie Koschalk, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2026

Paton grows his giant gourds in a greenhouse, while Gienger grows them in the pumpkin patch in his backyard in Anoka, a city on the banks of the Mississippi River north of Minneapolis, Fowler said. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026

Assorted Mixed Gourds These mini gourds are the perfect way to decorate a fall centerpiece on your dining and entryway tables, or easily fill in empty pockets on your front door pumpkinscape. — Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 9 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gourde, from Anglo-French gurde, gourde, from Latin cucurbita

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing gourd

• bottle gourd
• buffalo gourd
• out of one's gourd

Rhymes for gourd

• board
• bored
• chord
• cord
• corde
• cored
• fjord
• floored
• gored
• hoard
• horde
• lord

Kids Definition

gourd

noun

ˈgō(ə)rd  ˈgȯ(ə)rd 

ˈgu̇(ə)rd

1

: any of a family of tendril-bearing vines (as the cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin)

2

: the usually hard-shell many-seeded fruit of a gourd

gourdlike

-ˌlīk

adjective