pear

noun

ˈper 

1

: a pome fruit of a tree (genus Pyrus, especially P. communis) of the rose family that typically has a pale green or brownish skin, a firm juicy flesh, and an oblong shape in which a broad base end tapers upward to a narrow stem end

2

: a tree bearing pears

Examples of pear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The 2025 growing season’s weather was ideal, allowing for beautifully balanced sweetness and flavor across not just the eponymous apples, but everything from peaches to pears grown at the Apple Hill Growers Association’s more than 40 farms and ranches. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2025

Ripe pear and golden apple meet wet stone, all wrapped in that trademark Alto Adige freshness. —Devin Parr, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025

In fact, today’s cantaloupes often don’t produce a natural element known as ethylene, which is commonly found in fruits that do ripen after they’re picked like bananas, peaches, pears, or avocados. —Sherri Gordon, Health, 28 Aug. 2025

Standouts include a lobster ravioli in a lobster cream sauce topped with shrimp ($26) and a delicious fiocchi alla pera, pasta pockets filled with pear and ricotta in a creamy sauce with a hint of gorgonzola. —Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pere, from Old English peru, from Vulgar Latin *pira, from Latin, plural of pirum

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing pear

• alligator pear
• Anjou pear
• Asian pear
• avocado pear
• Bradford callery pear
• Bradford pear
• callery pear
• d'Anjou pear
• go pear-shaped
• pear psylla
• pear-shaped
• prickly pear
• prickly pear cactus
• prickly pear fruit
• vegetable pear

Rhymes for pear

• air
• ayre
• bahr
• bare
• blare
• care
• chair
• claire
• ere
• err
• eyre
• fair

Kids Definition

pear

noun

ˈpa(ə)r 

ˈpe(ə)r

: a fruit that is commonly larger at the end opposite the stem and typically has a pale green or brownish skin and juicy flesh

also : a tree that bears pears and is related to the apple