gourd

noun

ˈgȯrd  ˈgu̇rd 

plural gourds

1

: any of a family (Cucurbitaceae, the gourd family) of chiefly herbaceous tendril-bearing vines including the cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin

2

: the fruit of a gourd : pepo

especially : any of various hard-rinded inedible fruits of plants of two genera (Lagenaria and Cucurbita) often used for ornament or for vessels and utensils

Walking through the various barrios, you might see people sharing sips from a little gourd with a straw in it.

—Bruce Sanderson

… a basketball-size gourd draped with a veil of wooden beads—to incite individual bursts of improvisation from the orchestra's players.

—The New Yorker

see also:

out of one's gourd

Examples of gourd in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The nurse rubs circles on her lower back, clucking at the struggle of turning the pregnant body to the side like a lopsided gourd. — Literary Hub, 25 June 2026

It is sold on street corners from vendors with large gourds, and also seen mixed with spirits on cocktail menus in upscale restaurants throughout the state. — Daniel Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2026

The work depicts three kneeling women, their arms stretched upward, holding a large basket of corn, gourds and native fruits. — Eric Adler june 24, Kansas City Star, 24 June 2026

Anyone who wants to participate will take a video of them packing a gourd with maté and encourage others to join, filming videos of it in the most unexpected of places. — Andrew Watman, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gourde, from Anglo-French gurde, gourde, from Latin cucurbita

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing gourd

• bottle gourd
• buffalo gourd
• out of one's gourd

Rhymes for gourd

• board
• bored
• chord
• cord
• corde
• cored
• fjord
• floored
• gored
• hoard
• horde
• lord

Kids Definition

gourd

noun

ˈgō(ə)rd  ˈgȯ(ə)rd 

ˈgu̇(ə)rd

1

: any of a family of tendril-bearing vines (as the cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin)

2

: the usually hard-shell many-seeded fruit of a gourd

gourdlike

-ˌlīk

adjective