Meaning & use
vegetables
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“vegetables” is a form of “vegetable”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Plants or plant parts such as carrots, spinach or beans that people eat, usually with the main part of a meal.
Grammar: The plural of vegetable: eat your vegetables.
Patterns
- eat vegetables
- vegetables with something
Children should eat more vegetables every day.
We steamed the vegetables and served them with rice.
She buys fresh vegetables from a local farm.
nounplural
Used as an adjective-like noun for dishes or products made from or based on vegetables.
Grammar: Often used before another noun, as in vegetables soup in menus, although vegetable soup is more usual.
Patterns
- mixed vegetables
The restaurant offers grilled vegetables as a side.
He ordered the roasted vegetables instead of fries.
Word forms
| singular | vegetable |
|---|
Common combinations
- fresh vegetables
- Fresh vegetables taste best in summer.
- leafy vegetables
- Leafy vegetables are rich in iron.
- roasted vegetables
- Roasted vegetables go well with chicken.
- steam vegetables
- Steam the vegetables for five minutes.
- root vegetables
- Root vegetables keep well through winter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- veggies
- Veggies is an informal, friendly form used in casual talk and by children.
- greens
- Greens means leafy vegetables only, so it is narrower than vegetables.
- produce
- Produce covers both fruit and vegetables as sold in shops, so it is broader.
Word family
- vegetable noun
- singular form
- vegetarian noun
- a person who does not eat meat
- vegan noun
- a person who avoids all animal products
- vegetation noun
- plants in general growing in a place
Commonly confused: vegetables or vegetation?
vegetables vs vegetation
Vegetation means plants growing in an area, not food. You eat vegetables, but you describe a landscape's vegetation.
Practice
The doctor told him to eat more ______ and less sugar.
Choose one answer.
The plural vegetables fits the general idea of eating several kinds. Vegetable alone needs an article, and vegetation means growing plants, not food.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vegetables”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.