Meaning & use
loofa
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Meanings
nouncountable
A rough, spongy scrubber made from the dried inner fibers of a gourd, used for washing the body or dishes.
Grammar: Most often spelled loofah; both spellings are accepted.
Patterns
- scrub with a loofa
She scrubbed her back with a loofa in the shower.
A natural loofa softens as it gets wet.
He hung the loofa to dry after every bath.
nouncountablebiology
The tropical climbing plant that produces the gourd from which such scrubbers come.
Grammar: Also called luffa; used in gardening.
They grew a loofa on the garden fence.
The loofa vine produces long green gourds.
Young loofa fruits can be cooked and eaten like squash.
Word forms
| plural | loofas |
|---|
Common combinations
- natural loofa
- A natural loofa is gentler on the planet than plastic.
- loofa sponge
- The loofa sponge dried on the windowsill.
- exfoliate with a loofa
- Many people exfoliate with a loofa.
- loofa gourd
- The loofa gourd must dry on the vine.
- loofa mitt
- She bought a loofa mitt for the bath.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: loofa or sea sponge?
loofa vs sea sponge
A sea sponge is a marine animal skeleton; a loofa comes from a plant gourd.
Practice
Which statement about a loofa is true?
Choose one answer.
A natural loofa comes from the dried fibrous gourd of a plant. A sea sponge is an animal, so that option fails.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “loofa”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.