turnip
Americannoun
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the thick, fleshy, edible root of either of two plants of the mustard family, the white-fleshed Brassica rapa rapifera or the yellow-fleshed rutabaga.
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the plant itself.
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the root of this plant used as a vegetable.
noun
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a widely cultivated plant, Brassica rapa , of the Mediterranean region, with a large yellow or white edible root: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
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the root of this plant, which is eaten as a vegetable
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any of several similar or related plants
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another name for kohlrabi
Other Word Forms
- turniplike adjective
Etymology
Origin of turnip
1525–35; earlier turnep(e) , equivalent to turn (with reference to its neatly rounded shape) + nepe neep
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A later edition included four pages of “Additional Facts,” including the mysterious appearance of “a turnip covered with minute, multitudinous, and most beautifully formed mesmeric characters.”
From Literature
I gathered bits of straw from the floor and the hens’ nest outside, but all that got me was some shriveled turnips and onions.
From Literature
In the 19th century, children gobbled chiles and mutton and turnips and jellied pig’s brain.
They hurried out of the van and approached a tall gate made of thick wood, with large turnips hanging from the corners.
From Literature
The winner takes home a turnip impaled on a rusty six inch nail in a block of wood as a trophy and a blue plaque.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
