What does zucchini mean?
Zucchini is the common English name for the tender, immature fruit of a particular summer squash. It usually has smooth green skin, pale flesh, and a mild flavor that becomes more pronounced when cooked. Botanically, the part eaten is a fruit because it develops from the plant's flower and contains seeds. In cooking and everyday classification, however, it is treated as a vegetable. Zucchini can be eaten raw in salads, grated into dishes, sautéed, roasted, grilled, or baked into breads and fritters. It is especially associated with Mediterranean cooking, although it is now widely used around the world. American English generally uses “zucchini,” while British English more often uses “courgette”; both terms refer to the same vegetable. The word is useful in both domestic and botanical contexts, and its status as a fruit that is commonly considered a vegetable makes it an unusually clear example of the difference between biological classification and culinary convention.
nounThe tender, immature fruit of a type of summer squash, with smooth green skin and pale flesh, eaten raw or cooked. Although botanically a fruit, it is conventionally treated as a vegetable in cooking.
- The tender, immature fruit of the zucchini plant, commonly eaten as a vegetable.
- The zucchini plant itself, which produces long or cylindrical summer-squash fruits.
"She sliced the zucchini thinly and grilled it with olive oil and garlic."
"The market had baskets of zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers."
"Grow the zucchini in rich soil and harvest the fruits while they are still small and tender."
When used as a countable noun, zucchini normally takes the regular English plural “zucchinis.”
"Roast the zucchinis with garlic, olive oil, and a little salt."
Botanically a fruit but a vegetable on the plate, zucchini comes from the Italian diminutive meaning “little gourd.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does zucchini come from?
The word was borrowed into English from Italian in the early nineteenth century. Italian zucchina is a diminutive of zucca, meaning “gourd,” and English later established the regular plural zucchinis. Related forms include Italian zucca, zucchino, and zucchetta, while French courgette developed from an Italian diminutive with the same underlying root.
How zucchini is actually used
The word is neutral and common in culinary, horticultural, and general contexts. Although botanically a fruit, zucchini is conventionally classified as a vegetable, and culinary expressions such as “zucchini blossom” reflect that established usage.
Easily confused with zucchini
Zucchini and courgette usually refer to the same vegetable, but zucchini is the usual term in American English and courgette is more common in British English.