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

And fresh fruits that don't need to be refrigerated, like bananas or apples, are fair game, too. — Audrey Bruno, SELF, "How to Doctor Up an Instant Oatmeal Packet to Make a Delicious and Filling Breakfast, According to R.D.s," 3 Feb. 2019 In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs and oil. — Chrissy Teigen, Good Housekeeping, "Great Breakfast Recipes," 14 Jan. 2019 The bananas were spread out across campus; one of them was right next to the freshman dorms. — Lucy Diavolo, Teen Vogue, "Arjun Singh Sethi's American Hate Gave Hate Crime Survivors Like Taylor Dumpson the Chance to Tell Their Own Stories," 11 Dec. 2018 Pass through a fine chinois, then set into tart shell over the bananas. — Bethany Jean Clement, The Seattle Times, "How to make the best banana cream pie ever," 4 Dec. 2018 Washington needs to start clearing its books a bit as the Wall extension kicks in, and Porter doesn’t seem like the right third banana here. — Rohan Nadkarni, SI.com, "Kawhi-to-Boston and More NBA Draft Day Trades That Should Happen," 18 June 2018 Emilia and Malena were amazed — even shocked — to learn that humans share certain genetic similarities to the banana! — New York Times, "Francine Prose on Montreal in the Spring: The Time of the Butterflies," 11 June 2018 The Gros Michel banana dominated markets until the 1950s, when a fungus destroyed many plantations. — Kevin Begos, Smithsonian, "The Quest to Grow the First Great American Wine Grape," 6 June 2018 The pancakes are unique, dense in texture while still light and fluffy, covered in toppings, the best of which is the very sweet caramelized bananas. — Larry Olmsted, USA TODAY, "Great American Bites for Mother's Day brunch," 9 May 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

9 Mar 2019

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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