noun

berry

BEH-ree

noun

A small, juicy, often sweet fruit that grows on a bush or vine, such as a blueberry or strawberry.

"The kids spent the afternoon picking wild berries along the fence line."

"She added a handful of mixed berries to her morning yogurt."

A coffee bean, before or during processing.

"The farm hand-picks the ripe red coffee berries each harvest."

verb

To pick or gather berries.

"They went berrying in the woods behind the cabin."

How to Use Berry

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA small, juicy fruit, or (informally) to go out gathering them.

Common mistake

Botanically, some fruits called "berries" in everyday speech (like strawberries) aren't true berries, while some fruits that don't sound like berries (like bananas and tomatoes) technically are — everyday usage just ignores the botanical definition.

Common pairings

wild berries berry picking mixed berries

Word Forms

berried past tense, berried past tense, berries plural, berries plural, berries plural, berries singular, berries singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

They went _____ in the woods behind the cabin.

Etymology

From Old English berġe, a very old Germanic word for small stoneless fruit — related to similar words in German and Scandinavian languages.

Rhymes for berry

Kerry ferry Jerry merry terry perry Derry Gerry cherry sherry mulberry Mayberry

See all rhymes for berry →