pumpkin

noun

pump·​kin ˈpəm(p)-kən 

nonstandard

ˈpəŋ-kən 

often attributive

1

a

: a fruit of any of various cultivars of herbaceous plants (Cucurbita pepo, C. maxima, C. moschata, C. ficifolia, and C. argyrosperma) of the gourd family that is typically round and orange but may be another color or shape, that has a hard usually smooth skin with shallow longitudinal grooves, and that is grown for ornamental use or for its fibrous pale flesh used especially in baking or as feed for livestock

b

: any of several annual chiefly trailing American plants that bear pumpkins

2

: a strong orange color

Examples of pumpkin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Your pumpkins are styled on the front porch, colorful mums are blooming by the door, and Halloween decorations have transformed the house with the perfect fall theme—but there’s just one thing missing. —Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 19 Oct. 2025

History of pumpkin weigh-off competitions Jack La Rue, a former competitive grower who’s now a historian and statistician for the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth – the international ruling body for weigh-off contests – said the pursuit of record-setting pumpkins dates back to at least the late 1800s. —Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025

Kournikova simply captioned the post with a series of emojis, including two pumpkins, a soccer ball and a duck. —Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025

Participate in a pumpkin pie or donut eating contest, the pumpkin roll, the egg toss and sack races. —Caroline Ritzie, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier pumpion, modification of French popon, pompon melon, pumpkin, from Latin pepon-, pepo, from Greek pepōn, from pepōn ripened; akin to Greek pessein to cook, ripen — more at cook

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing pumpkin

• Japanese pumpkin
• kabocha pumpkin
• kobocha pumpkin
• pumpkin pie spice
• pumpkin spice
• pumpkin spiced

Rhymes for pumpkin

• bumpkin
• lumpkin

Kids Definition

pumpkin

noun

pump·​kin ˈpəm(p)-kən 

1

: the usually round orange fruit of a vine of the gourd family widely used as food

also : a fruit (as a crookneck squash) of a closely related vine

2

: a usually hairy prickly vine that produces pumpkins

3

: a strong orange color

Medical Definition

pumpkin

noun

pump·​kin ˈpəm(p)-kən 

: the usually round orange fruit of a vine (Cucurbita pepo) of the gourd family that is widely cultivated as food and is the source of pepo