persimmon
noun
per·sim·mon
pər-ˈsi-mən 
1
: any of a genus (Diospyros) of trees of the ebony family with hard fine wood, oblong leaves, and small bell-shaped flowers
especially
: an eastern U.S. tree (D. virginiana) or a Japanese tree (D. kaki)
2
: the usually orange several-seeded globular berry of a persimmon that is edible when fully ripe but usually extremely astringent when unripe
Examples of persimmon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In Rizhao, bakers bustled to make the holiday’s special sweet rice balls, shaped and colored like persimmons.
—
TIME, 24 Feb. 2024
Sometimes the dishes, like sticky lamb ribs glazed in thick pomegranate molasses barbecue sauce and finished with fried rosemary and pickled persimmons, come off overwrought, and a too-busy take on a Caesar salad could use one less ingredient.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2024
The eleven-hundred-square-foot space, situated on a high floor of a building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, is equipped with an induction burner, a microscope, and a big sink, plus bouquets of lemon verbena and whole persimmons hanging from the ceiling to dry.
—Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
The talc-free formula uses a combination of tapioca starch and Japanese persimmon powder to gently absorb oil and leave your hair looking oh so fresh.
—Clare Holden, Glamour, 4 Apr. 2024
In 2022, the group asked officials to use a persimmon tree to predict the weather, per PETA's website.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2024
In other years, PETA has advocated that the animal be replaced with a persimmon tree and an animatronic groundhog equipped with artificial intelligence.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2024
The seasonal menu currently features persimmon salad with burrata.
—Laura Ness, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2024
Lauper, meanwhile, a standout with her persimmon and banana-yellow hair, stunned the group into awed silence with her bulldozer of a voice.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024
TIME, 24 Feb. 2024
Sometimes the dishes, like sticky lamb ribs glazed in thick pomegranate molasses barbecue sauce and finished with fried rosemary and pickled persimmons, come off overwrought, and a too-busy take on a Caesar salad could use one less ingredient.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2024
The eleven-hundred-square-foot space, situated on a high floor of a building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, is equipped with an induction burner, a microscope, and a big sink, plus bouquets of lemon verbena and whole persimmons hanging from the ceiling to dry.
—Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
The talc-free formula uses a combination of tapioca starch and Japanese persimmon powder to gently absorb oil and leave your hair looking oh so fresh.
—Clare Holden, Glamour, 4 Apr. 2024
In 2022, the group asked officials to use a persimmon tree to predict the weather, per PETA's website.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2024
In other years, PETA has advocated that the animal be replaced with a persimmon tree and an animatronic groundhog equipped with artificial intelligence.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2024
The seasonal menu currently features persimmon salad with burrata.
—Laura Ness, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2024
Lauper, meanwhile, a standout with her persimmon and banana-yellow hair, stunned the group into awed silence with her bulldozer of a voice.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'persimmon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near persimmon
Cite this Entry
“Persimmon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/persimmon. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
persimmon
noun
per·sim·mon
pər-ˈsim-ən
1
: any of a genus of trees with hard fine wood, oblong leaves, and small bell-shaped white flowers
2
: the usually orange fruit of a persimmon that resembles a plum and is edible when fully ripe but usually very bitter when unripe
Medical Definition
persimmon
noun
per·sim·mon
pər-ˈsim-ən
1
: any tree or shrub of the genus Diospyros
especially
: one (D. virginiana) of the eastern United States whose bark has been used as an astringent
2
: the usually orange globular berry of a persimmon that is edible when fully ripe but usually extremely astringent when unripe
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