Meaning & use
pomelo
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Meanings
nouncountable
A very large citrus fruit from Asia with a thick pale rind and sweet, slightly bitter flesh, similar to a grapefruit.
Grammar: Countable: one pomelo, two pomelos.
Patterns
- peel a pomelo
- a segment of pomelo
We shared one pomelo after dinner because each fruit is so big.
She peeled the thick rind off the pomelo and separated the segments.
Pomelo salad is a popular dish in Thailand.
nouncountablespecialist
The tree that bears this fruit, grown in warm regions.
Grammar: Context makes clear whether the tree or the fruit is meant.
Patterns
- a pomelo tree
The farmer planted a pomelo near the gate.
A mature pomelo can produce dozens of fruits each year.
Pomelo trees grow best in humid, frost-free climates.
Word forms
| plural | pomelos |
|---|
Common combinations
- peel a pomelo
- It takes a knife to peel a pomelo.
- pomelo peel
- Pomelo peel can be candied as a sweet snack.
- pomelo juice
- Pomelo juice is milder than grapefruit juice.
- pomelo salad
- The restaurant served a spicy pomelo salad.
- pomelo segments
- She added pomelo segments to the fruit bowl.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shaddock
- Shaddock is an older name for the same fruit, now mostly used in historical or regional writing.
- grapefruit
- A grapefruit is smaller and more sour than a pomelo, and is actually a hybrid descended from it.
- citrus
- Citrus is the whole fruit family, whereas pomelo names one particular kind.
Word family
Commonly confused: pomelo or pomegranate? pomelo or grapefruit?
pomelo vs pomegranate
A pomegranate is a round red fruit full of seeds, not a citrus fruit like a pomelo.
pomelo vs grapefruit
A grapefruit is smaller, more sour and has a thinner rind than a pomelo.
Practice
Which fruit is the largest citrus fruit and an ancestor of the grapefruit?
Choose one answer.
The pomelo is the largest citrus fruit. A pomegranate sounds similar but is not a citrus fruit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pomelo”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.