fruiting body
noun
plural fruiting bodies
: a structure (as of a moss or liverwort) specialized for producing spores
especially
: the spore-producing organ of a fungus or slime mold : sporophore
Examples of fruiting body in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Further inspection revealed that the mysterious object was a bracket fungus, a type of fungal fruiting body that typically grows on trees.
—
Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2025
Garden and lawn soil is full of fungal spores, and mushrooms are the above-ground fruiting bodies of those fungi.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 13 Aug. 2025
Giant fruiting bodies of the potent fungi, which contain the mind-bending compound of psilocybin and other tryptamines, stand tall at his newest venture, the drug development company Ajna BioSciences.
—Will Yakowicz, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
The two insects were likely killed by the fungi before getting trapped in the sticky tree resin that ultimately forms amber, said Araújo, noting that most entomopathogenic fungi kill their hosts to produce the fruiting body.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for fruiting body
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Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2025
Garden and lawn soil is full of fungal spores, and mushrooms are the above-ground fruiting bodies of those fungi.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 13 Aug. 2025
Giant fruiting bodies of the potent fungi, which contain the mind-bending compound of psilocybin and other tryptamines, stand tall at his newest venture, the drug development company Ajna BioSciences.
—Will Yakowicz, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
The two insects were likely killed by the fungi before getting trapped in the sticky tree resin that ultimately forms amber, said Araújo, noting that most entomopathogenic fungi kill their hosts to produce the fruiting body.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for fruiting body
Cite this Entry
“Fruiting body.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fruiting%20body. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
fruiting body
noun
fruit·ing body
ˈfrüt-iŋ- 
: a plant organ specialized for producing spores
especially
: sporophore
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