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

Remove Trash Discard rotting produce, and don’t leave food waste like banana peels on your counter, says Oi. —Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 10 Oct. 2025

California has 42 official state symbols after Governor Newsom signed three bills to create new symbols in 2024, including the Dungeness crab as the state crustacean, the banana slug as the state slug, and the black abalone as the state seashell. —Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025

Special drinks include the Siesta (Altos Blanco, Campari and lime and grapefruit juice); the Basil Daiquiri (rum, St Germain, chartreuse, lime and basil); the Tropical Old Fashioned (Brugal 1888, banana, pineapple, bitters and coconut sugar); and the French 75 (cognac, lemon and champagne). —Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2025

So this is a way to get that without having to rely on anything weird or pureed banana into anything. —Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 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