applesauce

noun

ap·​ple·​sauce ˈa-pəl-ˌsȯs How to pronounce applesauce (audio)
1
: a relish or dessert made of apples stewed to a pulp and sweetened
2
slang : bunkum, nonsense

Did you know?

English offers a smorgasbord of words for nonsense, some of which are better known as words for food. We have baloney, spinach, rhubarb, and toffee, not to mention full of beans. And if none of those offerings are to your taste, you can say that's pure banana oil! Seemingly innocuous applesauce was first introduced to this menu back in the early 20th century. Back then, there may have been some bias against the real stuff. Poet Wallace Stevens’s turn-of-the-century description of a meal consisting of "some unnameable smathering of greasy fritters . . . and of course the inevictable applesauce" shows a lack of respect that must have been shared by others.

Examples of applesauce in a Sentence

all that talk about taking up the farming life was just a lot of spoiled applesauce
Recent Examples on the Web But the below products have 1/1000th of the lead found in the cinnamon applesauce made by Austrofoods, which the FDA points out measured between 2,270 to 5,110 parts per million in the cinnamon. David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2024 Caiden had been eating the cinnamon applesauce pouches almost every day for about a month. Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, 28 Feb. 2024 Exactly how those companies acted during the applesauce incident remains unclear. Will Fitzgibbon, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024 Also on the menu is homemade applesauce and freshly tapped maple syrup. Journal Sentinel, 14 Feb. 2024 Cinnamon applesauce pouches from the other brands, Schnucks and Weis, are also subject to recall. Katherine Dillinger, CNN, 6 Feb. 2024 The various applesauce brands are sold both online and in-store. Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023 Investigators say the applesauce ferried the lead from Ecuador into the blood of hundreds of U.S. consumers. David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2024 On Target Latkes, a Jewish-style potato pancake, are super popular during Hanukkah and are made from grated potatoes that are fried in oil and eaten with sour cream and/or applesauce. Amanda Ogle, Southern Living, 22 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'applesauce.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of applesauce was in 1672

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Dictionary Entries Near applesauce

Cite this Entry

“Applesauce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/applesauce. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

applesauce

noun
ap·​ple·​sauce -ˌsȯs How to pronounce applesauce (audio)
: a sauce or dessert made of sweetened stewed apples
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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