Meaning & use
marrow
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Meanings
noununcountablemedicalbiology
The soft, fatty tissue inside bones that produces blood cells.
Grammar: Uncountable when referring to the tissue: 'bone marrow'.
Patterns
- bone marrow
- marrow transplant
A bone marrow transplant can save lives.
The doctor examined the marrow under a microscope.
nouncountable or uncountableBritish
A large, elongated green vegetable of the squash family, common in British cooking.
Grammar: Countable when referring to individual vegetables: 'a marrow'; uncountable when referring to the food: 'marrow soup'.
Patterns
- a marrow
- stuffed marrow
She grew a huge marrow in her garden.
We had stuffed marrow for dinner.
Word forms
| plural | marrows |
|---|
Common combinations
- bone marrow
- Bone marrow is used in some medical treatments.
- marrow transplant
- He received a marrow transplant from his sister.
- vegetable marrow
- Vegetable marrow is a type of squash.
- stuffed marrow
- Stuffed marrow is a traditional British dish.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- marrowbone noun
- A bone containing marrow, often used in cooking.
Commonly confused: marrow or marrow?
marrow vs marrow
Not to be confused with 'morrow' (as in 'tomorrow'), which means the next day.
Practice
In British English, what is a 'marrow' most likely to be in a kitchen?
Choose one answer.
In British cooking, 'marrow' commonly refers to a large green vegetable. The soft tissue inside bones is also called marrow, but that is a medical sense, not a kitchen one.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “marrow”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.