banana

noun

ba·​nana bə-ˈna-nə 

 especially British  -ˈnä-

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

Illustration of banana

• banana 2

Examples of banana in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Phoenix scoop shop's available flavors include banana cream pie, black cherry, butter pecan, Oreo cheesecake, French silk pie and raspberry cheesecake chunk. —Endia Fontanez, AZCentral.com, 2 Oct. 2025

Derrick Adams’ works celebrated the color and movement through vibrant geometric styles; David Shrigley featured wit and humor through banana motifs and Hattie Stewart leaned into a trippy take on optimism through Pop-Surrealist florals. —Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2025

In that 30-minute video, the baby monkey is first fed pieces of a banana. —Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Oct. 2025

Then the team working on the mountain brought in ideas like the flamboyán tree and the banana plants. —Leila Cobo, Billboard, 1 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish or Portuguese; Spanish, from Portuguese, of African origin; akin to Wolof banaana banana

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing banana

• banana bread
• banana clip
• banana oil
• banana pepper
• banana republic
• banana seat
• banana split
• second banana
• slip on a banana skin/peel
• top banana

Rhymes for banana

• arana
• arcana
• bandana
• bandanna
• brahmana
• cabana
• campana
• diana
• fianna
• hosanna
• hyaena
• lantana

Kids Definition

banana

noun

ba·​nana bə-ˈnan-ə 

: a treelike tropical plant with large leaves and flower clusters that develop into a bunch of finger-shaped fruit which are usually yellow when ripe

also : its fruit