pineapple

noun

pine·​ap·​ple ˈpī-ˌna-pəl 

1

a

: a tropical monocotyledonous plant (Ananas comosus of the family Bromeliaceae, the bromeliad family) that has rigid spiny-margined recurved leaves and a short stalk with a dense oblong head of small abortive flowers

b

: the large edible multiple fruit of the pineapple that consists of the sweet succulent fleshy inflorescence

2

: a hand grenade

Examples of pineapple in a Sentence

a can of chopped pineapple

Recent Examples on the Web

Dessert included chocolate mousse and crisp slices of watermelon and pineapple. —Idra Novey, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025

Much like pineapple casserole, this recipe proves that cheese and fruit are a decadent combination when baked up in a casserole dish. —Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 5 Nov. 2025

Boyu Capital reportedly beat out several Western investors including Carlyle and EQT for the business and its 8,000 stores in China, where Starbucks introduced coffee culture to a tea-drinking public but lost ground to local rivals selling pineapple and baiju lattes. —Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2025

Choose from traditional Thanksgiving entrees such as roast turkey ($29) with giblet dressing, broiled ham steak ($29) with pineapple ring, half Muscovy duckling ($31) with applesauce, or broasted chicken ($29) with cranberry sauce. —Elaine Rewolinski, jsonline.com, 3 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1624, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing pineapple

• pineapple guava
• pineapple sage

Rhymes for pineapple

• appal
• apple
• chapel
• dapple
• grapple

Kids Definition

pineapple

noun

pine·​ap·​ple ˈpī-ˌnap-əl 

: a tropical plant with stiff spiny sword-shaped leaves and a short flowering stalk that develops into an edible fruit with usually pale yellow sweet juicy flesh and very thick skin

also : this fruit

Etymology

Middle English pinappel "the cone of a pine"; so called because the fruit looks like the cone from a pine tree

Medical Definition

pineapple

noun

pine·​ap·​ple ˈpī-ˌnap-əl 

1

: a tropical monocotyledonous plant (Ananas comosus of the family Bromeliaceae, the pineapple family) that has rigid spiny-margined recurved leaves and a short stalk with a dense oblong head of small abortive flowers

2

: the multiple fruit of the pineapple that consists of the succulent fleshy inflorescence and whose juice is the source of the proteolytic enzyme bromelain