noun
broccoli
BROK-uh-lee
noun
1
A vegetable with tight green flower clusters on a thick edible stalk, related to cabbage.
"She steamed some broccoli to go with dinner."
"Kids often complain about eating their broccoli."
2
Slang for marijuana.
"He joked that he was just growing "broccoli" in his closet."
How to Use Broccoli
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe green vegetable with little tree-like florets that gets served steamed or roasted.
Common pairings
steamed broccoli
broccoli florets
broccoli and cheese
Word Forms
broccolis plural, broccoli plural, Broccolis plural
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Etymology
Borrowed in the late 1600s from Italian broccoli, plural of broccolo ("cabbage sprout"), from brocco ("shoot" or "sprout") — a relative of "brocade" and "brochure," which share the same Latin root for something pointed.