eggplant

noun

egg·​plant ˈeg-ˌplant 

ˈāg-

1

a

: a widely cultivated perennial Asian herb (Solanum melongena) of the nightshade family yielding edible fruit

b

: the usually smooth ovoid typically blackish-purple or white fruit of the eggplant

2

: a dark grayish or blackish purple

Examples of eggplant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In this show the palette shifted from the artist’s familiar Pepto-Bismol pink to slightly more somber shades, of saffron, eggplant, and rose; the colors had a touch of Bob Thompson about them, blocky flat shapes cohering into apparitions. —Helen Molesworth, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025

Under the Biden Administration, the EPA approved just one such pesticide, late in the then-president’s single term—a chemical known as fluazaindolizine, which was cleared to be used on foods such as carrots, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, oranges, peaches, almonds, and grapes. —Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 26 Nov. 2025

At the garden that morning, supervisor Carly Zimmerman, was harvesting beets, carrots, eggplants, and turnips. —Bruce Finley, Denver Post, 23 Nov. 2025

Somewhere between a maroon and an eggplant, this option offers a slightly more gothic approach to fall foliage. —Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 11 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1767, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing eggplant

• Japanese eggplant

Rhymes for eggplant

• decant
• descant
• enchant
• explant
• implant
• preplant
• recant
• replant
• secant
• supplant
• transplant
• ant

Kids Definition

eggplant

noun

egg·​plant -ˌplant 

1

: a widely cultivated herb that is related to the potato and yields edible fruit

2

: the usually glossy blackish purple egg-shaped fruit of an eggplant