What does watermelon mean?
Watermelon is the common name of a large fruit with a firm rind, juicy flesh, and numerous seeds. Its flesh is typically red or pink, although varieties may be yellow, orange, or even pale. In everyday use, “watermelon” usually refers to the fruit, while it can also denote the sprawling plant that produces it. The word appears in familiar contexts involving summer meals, fruit salads, juices, chilled slices, and garden cultivation. Its associations are strongly seasonal, refreshing, sweet, and informal, making it especially common in descriptions of picnics, outdoor meals, and warm-weather celebrations. Although the fruit is botanically classified as a type of berry, its size, rind, and seeds distinguish it sharply from familiar small berries. Watermelon is also useful as a compound word because it combines two transparent elements, water and melon, reflecting the fruit's exceptionally high water content and its close relationship to other melons.
nounA large, usually green-skinned fruit with juicy, commonly red or pink flesh and numerous seeds. The word can also refer to the plant that produces this fruit.
- The edible fruit of the watermelon plant, usually having green skin, juicy flesh, and many seeds.
- The cultivated plant that produces watermelons.
"We served chilled watermelon with mint at the summer picnic."
"We sliced the chilled watermelon and served it with lime."
"Watermelon seedlings need warm soil and plenty of space."
The standard plural is used for individual fruits, especially when discussing different varieties or quantities.
"The market had several large watermelons on display."
Botanically, watermelon is a type of berry, even though its rind and seeds make it look nothing like the berries most people think of.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does watermelon come from?
The English compound watermelon appeared in the early 17th century, formed from water and melon. Its name reflects the fruit's abundant, watery flesh. Melon entered English through French and Medieval Latin from Greek melōn, an old broad term associated with apples and later adopted for the melon fruit.
How watermelon is actually used
The word is neutral in register and used in both British and American English. It is normally countable, as in “a watermelon” and “watermelons,” but can also be used as an uncountable mass noun for the food, as in “some watermelon.”