Dictionary
kiwifruit
noun ki·wi·fruit \-ˌfrüt\
: a small fruit that has green flesh, black seeds, and brown, hairy skin
Full Definition of KIWIFRUIT
: the edible fruit of a Chinese gooseberry having a fuzzy brown skin and slightly acidic typically green flesh
See kiwifruit defined for English-language learners
See kiwifruit defined for kids
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First Known Use of KIWIFRUIT
1965
Rhymes with KIWIFRUIT
absolute, Aleut, arrowroot, Asyût, attribute, autoroute, bandicoot, bathing suit, birthday suit, bitterroot, bodysuit, boilersuit, bumbershoot, business suit, comminute, constitute, contribute, convolute, destitute, disrepute, dissolute, execute, follow suit, gingerroot, hot pursuit, institute, involute, leisure suit, malamute, overshoot, parachute, passion fruit, persecute, point-and-shoot, prosecute, prostitute, qiviut, resolute, restitute, revolute, run-and-shoot, rural route, subacute, substitute, troubleshoot, undershoot
KIWIFRUIT Defined for Kids
kiwifruit
noun ki·wi·fruit \-ˌfrüt\
Definition of KIWIFRUIT for Kids
: the fruit of a Chinese vine having a fuzzy brown skin and slightly tart green flesh
Word History of KIWIFRUIT
The tart green fruit that goes by the name kiwifruit or often just kiwi is not eaten by the bird called the kiwi (whose name comes from Maori, the language of the native people of New Zealand). But the kiwi is closely associated with New Zealand, and when kiwifruit grown in that country was first widely exported in the 1960s, it was chosen as a pleasant-sounding name. The older name for the fruit was “Chinese gooseberry,” which suggests a fruit much smaller in size than the kiwi.
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