U

fruit

noun, plural fruits, (especially collectively) fruit.

any product of plant growth useful to humans or animals.
the developed ovary of a seed plant with its contents and accessory parts, as the pea pod, nut, tomato, or pineapple.
the edible part of a plant developed from a flower, with any accessory tissues, as the peach, mulberry, or banana.
the spores and accessory organs of ferns, mosses, fungi, algae, or lichen.
anything produced or accruing; product, result, or effect; return or profit: the fruits of one’s labors.
Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a male homosexual.

verb (used with or without object)

to bear or cause to bear fruit: a tree that fruits in late summer; careful pruning that sometimes fruits a tree.

noun

botany the ripened ovary of a flowering plant, containing one or more seeds. It may be dry, as in the poppy, or fleshy, as in the peach
any fleshy part of a plant, other than the above structure, that supports the seeds and is edible, such as the strawberry
the specialized spore-producing structure of plants that do not bear seeds
any plant product useful to man, including grain, vegetables, etc
(often plural) the result or consequence of an action or effort
British old-fashioned, slang chap; fellow: used as a term of address
slang, mainly British a person considered to be eccentric or insane
slang, mainly US and Canadian a male homosexual
archaic offspring of man or animals; progeny

verb

to bear or cause to bear fruit

late 12c., from Old French fruit “fruit, fruit eaten as dessert; harvest; virtuous action” (12c.), from Latin fructus “an enjoyment, delight, satisfaction; proceeds, produce, fruit, crops,” from frug-, stem of frui “to use, enjoy,” from PIE *bhrug- “agricultural produce,” also “to enjoy” (see brook (v.)).

Classical sense preserved in fruits of one’s labor. Originally in English meaning vegetables as well. Modern narrower sense is from early 13c. Meaning “odd person, eccentric” is from 1910; that of “male homosexual” is from 1935. The term also is noted in 1931 as tramp slang for “a girl or woman willing to oblige,” probably from the fact of being “easy picking.” Fruit salad recorded from 1861.

The ripened ovary of a flowering plant that contains the seeds, sometimes fused with other parts of the plant. Fruits can be dry or fleshy. Berries, nuts, grains, pods, and drupes are fruits.♦ Fruits that consist of ripened ovaries alone, such as the tomato and pea pod, are called true fruits. ♦ Fruits that consist of ripened ovaries and other parts such as the receptacle or bracts, as in the apple, are called accessory fruits or false fruits. See also aggregate fruit multiple fruit simple fruit. See Note at berry.

In botany, the part of a seed-bearing plant that contains the fertilized seeds capable of generating a new plant (see fertilization). Fruit develops from the female part of the plant. Apples, peaches, tomatoes, and many other familiar foods are fruits.

see bear fruit; forbidden fruit.