Meaning & use
aubergine
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable or uncountableBritish
A glossy, deep purple vegetable with soft white flesh, often fried, grilled or baked; in American English it is called eggplant.
Grammar: Countable for whole vegetables (two aubergines) and uncountable as a food (some aubergine).
Patterns
- slices of aubergine
- stuffed aubergines
I sliced the aubergine and grilled it with olive oil.
She bought two aubergines for the moussaka.
The curry needs a little more aubergine and less potato.
noununcountableBritish
A dark purple color with a hint of brown, like the skin of the vegetable.
Grammar: As a color it is uncountable and can also be an adjective: an aubergine sofa.
Patterns
- painted in aubergine
- an aubergine coat
They painted the front door a deep aubergine.
She wore an aubergine scarf with her gray coat.
Aubergine is a rich shade for velvet curtains.
Word forms
| plural | aubergines |
|---|
Common combinations
- grilled aubergine
- Grilled aubergine goes well with yogurt and mint.
- roast aubergine
- I like roast aubergine in salads.
- stuffed aubergine
- Stuffed aubergine is a favorite dinner in our house.
- aubergine dip
- Aubergine dip is a smoky spread for flatbread.
- aubergine parmigiana
- We ordered aubergine parmigiana at the Italian restaurant.
- deep aubergine
- The kitchen is painted a deep aubergine.
Synonyms and how they differ
- eggplant
- Eggplant is the American word for the same vegetable, and Americans seldom say aubergine unless they follow British or French cooking.
- brinjal
- Brinjal is used in Indian and South African English for the same vegetable, so it signals a regional variety of English.
- plum
- As a color, plum is redder and lighter than aubergine, which is darker and a bit browner.
- mauve
- Mauve is a pale, lilac-purple, much lighter than the deep aubergine shade.
Word family
- eggplant noun
- the American name for the same vegetable
- aubergine-colored adjective
- deep purple like the vegetable's skin
Commonly confused: aubergine or eggplant? aubergine or auburn?
aubergine vs eggplant
Eggplant is not a different vegetable; it is the American name for the aubergine, so check which English the reader uses.
aubergine vs auburn
Auburn is a reddish-brown color, usually for hair, while aubergine is a dark purple.
Practice
A British recipe asks for 'two aubergines.' What would an American shopper buy?
Choose one answer.
Aubergine is the British word for what Americans call eggplant. Zucchinis, cucumbers and beets are different vegetables.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “aubergine”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.