hog plum

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A tropical tree whose small yellow fruit has a tart flavor and a large stone; also the fruit itself, widely eaten in the Caribbean and parts of Asia.

   Grammar: Can refer to the tree or the fruit: a hog plum tree, a ripe hog plum.

   Patterns

   • a hog plum tree
   • hog plum juice

   We picked a bag of ripe hog plums from the tree behind the house.

   Hog plum juice is a popular drink at street stalls.

   She pickled the green hog plums with salt and chili.

2. 2nouncountableregional

   Any of several other tart, plum-like fruits or the trees that bear them, depending on the region.

   Grammar: Regional meaning; the exact species depends on the country.

   In some places the hog plum is a different species from the one sold in island markets.

   The botanist warned that hog plum can name several unrelated trees.

Word forms

Common combinations

ripe hog plum

A ripe hog plum is yellow and slightly sweet under its sour skin.

hog plum tree

A hog plum tree can grow tall enough to shade a whole yard.

hog plum chutney

Her hog plum chutney tastes sharp and slightly sweet.

green hog plum

Green hog plums are crunchy and very sour.

hog plum juice

Hog plum juice is served chilled with sugar and ice.

Synonyms and how they differ

yellow mombin

Yellow mombin is the more scientific common name for the same tree, while hog plum is the folk name used in many places.

Spanish plum

Spanish plum is used in the Caribbean for related Spondias fruits, so it can overlap with hog plum without always being the same species.

ambarella

Ambarella is a related tropical fruit tree in the same genus, but it is a separate species with a different, crunchier fruit.

Word family

plum noun

a soft, sweet stone fruit of temperate regions

hog noun

a pig, the animal that gives the fruit its name

Spondias noun

the botanical genus that includes the hog plum

Commonly confused: hog plum or damson plum?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “hog plum”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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