vegetable

vegetable — noun

1. any root, leaf, stem, or other plant part that people eat cooked or raw in a mai

1.nounA2
Definition

any root, leaf, stem, or other plant part that people eat cooked or raw in a main course rather than as a sweet dish

Example

Owen chopped some carrots and onions and added them to the soup pot.

plural form: vegetables as ingredients in cooking

Every Tuesday, Yael buys fresh vegetables from the stall near the station.

collocation: fresh vegetables

Common collocations
  • fresh vegetables
  • green vegetables
  • leafy vegetables
  • root vegetables
  • seasonal vegetables
  • cooked vegetables
  • raw vegetables
  • vegetable soup
  • vegetable garden
Synonyms
  • produce

    broader term covering both fruits and vegetables, used especially for fresh items at a market

  • greens

    informal term focused on leafy green vegetables like lettuce or cabbage

  • veggie

    informal shortening, very common in everyday British conversation

Antonyms
  • fruit

    the sweet, seed-bearing part of a plant, often contrasted with vegetables in cooking

Grammar Patterns

vegetable + noun (modifier)

plural: vegetables

Usage Note

Countable noun; the plural form vegetables is extremely common because people usually talk about vegetables as a group of foods.

Common Mistakes

I ate a vegetable of broccoli.
I ate some broccoli / I ate a green vegetable.
Broccoli is an uncountable vegetable; use 'a vegetable' only for a countable kind like 'a carrot.'

2. a person who lives a dull, inactive life with little interest in anything exciti

2.nounB2
Definition

a person who lives a dull, inactive life with little interest in anything exciting or challenging

Example

Ever since Manuela lost her job, she stays home all day and has become a complete vegetable.

pattern: become a vegetable (informal, disapproving)

Kevin sat on the sofa all weekend playing games and doing nothing — a total vegetable.

Common collocations
  • become a vegetable
  • turn into a vegetable
  • like a vegetable
  • total vegetable
  • complete vegetable
Synonyms
  • couch potato

    more common, less harsh — refers specifically to someone who spends a lot of time watching TV or lying around

  • slug

    less common; compares a lazy person to a slow-moving animal

Antonyms
  • go-getter

    an energetic, ambitious person who pursues goals actively

Grammar Patterns

a vegetable — used as a predicate noun after 'become' or 'be'

Usage Note

This sense is disapproving but not as intensely offensive as sense 3. It compares a person to a passive object rather than to someone with a medical condition. Still, avoid using it about someone with a disability.

Common Mistakes

He is a vegetable because he works all day' (implies a medical condition).
He is such a couch potato.
Use 'couch potato' for laziness; reserve 'vegetable' for a more extreme lack of activity.

3. a taboo term used to dehumanise someone whose brain is so badly damaged that the

3.nounC1
Definition

a taboo term used to dehumanise someone whose brain is so badly damaged that they can no longer think, speak, or move like a healthy person

Example

The doctor scolded the intern for using the word vegetable to describe a patient with brain damage.

pattern: using 'vegetable' as a dehumanising label (warned against)

Campaign groups say calling anyone a vegetable is deeply insulting to people with severe disabilities.

Grammar Patterns

a vegetable — used as a predicate noun

Usage Note

⚠️ EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE. Do NOT use this word to describe a person with a medical condition or disability. It is a dehumanising slur. The standard medical term is 'person in a persistent vegetative state.' Even in informal contexts, this term causes serious offence.

Common Mistakes

The patient has been a vegetable since the accident.
The patient has been in a persistent vegetative state since the accident.
The first version is dehumanising and offensive; use the clinical term instead.

vegetable — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words relate to plants used as food, but they differ in scope and register. 'Produce' is the broadest term — it covers both fruits and vegetables sold fresh, typically at a market or grocery store. 'Greens' narrows the focus to leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, or kale, and is common in health and cooking contexts. 'Veggie' is an informal shortening of 'vegetable' used mainly in British English ('veggie burger,' 'veggie patch') and can also refer to a vegetarian person. 'Herbs' are a subset of plants grown for flavour or medicine rather than bulk nutrition; while botanically they are vegetables, in cooking they are treated differently — a sprig of rosemary is a herb, not a vegetable. For everyday shopping and eating, 'vegetable' and 'veggie' overlap most closely; use 'produce' when fruits are included, and 'greens' when you mean the leafy kind specifically.

produce ↗greensveggie ↗herbs

Common collocations

Phrases

  • like a vegetable

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'vegetable' comes from the Latin 'vegetabilis,' meaning 'able to grow or enliven,' which came from 'vegetare' ('to make active, to enliven'). It passed into English through Old French in the 1400s, originally meaning 'capable of growth.' The use as a noun for edible plants became common by the 1600s. The derogatory application to a person with severe brain damage appeared in the early 1900s and is now considered highly offensive.