banana

noun

ba·nana | \bə-ˈna-nə,

especially British -ˈnä-\

Definition of banana

1 : an elongated usually tapering tropical fruit with soft pulpy flesh enclosed in a soft usually yellow rind a bunch of bananas slipped on a banana peel

2 : any of several widely cultivated perennial often treelike herbs (genus Musa of the family Musaceae, the banana family) bearing bananas in compact pendent bunches

Examples of banana in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The next day, local businesses and clubs take their turns trying to be the top water fight banana of the year. — Sheryl Devore, Lake County News-Sun, "Water fights, parade still going strong at 73rd annual Alpine Fest," 11 July 2018 Only the banana-boat operators on South Beach want to see Melo on the Heat. — Ira Winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "ASK IRA: Readers sound off (a lot) on Carmelo-Heat possibility," 11 July 2018 Each chick weighs around 100 grams, which is about as much as an (unpeeled) banana. — National Geographic, "What Does It Take to Raise a Flamingo?," 25 June 2018 Blending banana to the chocolate mix is good too to bulk it up without adding a lot of calories. — Michelle R. Martinelli, For The Win, "Danica Patrick shares her favorite dessert recipes, plus which one Aaron Rodgers loves," 21 June 2018 Banana splits, malts, shakes, sundaes, fried bananas and funnel cakes — in several flavors — are also available. — Robert Philpot, star-telegram, "Fog, flowers, more crazy shakes: What's new and offbeat in DFW ice-cream shops," 20 June 2018 My family was going bananas, and I got really caught up and really distracted. — Rebecca Farley, refinery29.com, "The Stars Of Eighth Grade Relive Their Middle School Horror Stories," 13 July 2018 Some of the dishes included in the Google Doodle are apple pie for Maine, tortilla soup for Texas, hamburgers for Iowa and North Dakota, banana bread in Wyoming and goulash for Michigan. — Jennifer Calfas, Time, "The Fourth of July Google Doodle Celebrates Each State's Most Popular Holiday Recipes," 3 July 2018 The two baked a loaf of banana bread and served it to Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, the Vatican’s point person at the presentation. — Larissa Zimberoff, New York Times, "From Brewery to Bakery: A Flour That Fights Waste," 25 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'banana.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

19 Oct 2018

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Time Traveler for banana

The first known use of banana was in 1597

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More Definitions for banana

banana

noun

English Language Learners Definition of banana

: a long curved fruit with a thick peel that is yellow when it is ripe

See the full definition for banana in the English Language Learners Dictionary

banana

noun

ba·nana | \bə-ˈna-nə

Kids Definition of banana

: a fruit that is shaped somewhat like a finger, is usually yellow when ripe, and grows in bunches on a large treelike tropical plant with very large leaves