noun

cabbage

KA-bihj

noun

A leafy vegetable grown as a round, tightly packed head, eaten cooked or raw.

"She shredded half a cabbage into the coleslaw."

"Boiled cabbage was a staple of his grandmother's kitchen."

(slang) Money.

"He made serious cabbage flipping used cars."

verb

(informal, dated) To steal small amounts of something, especially fabric offcuts.

"The tailor was known to cabbage scraps of cloth for himself."

How to Use Cabbage

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe round leafy vegetable you see in coleslaw and stir-fries; slang for money or, as a verb, for petty pilfering.

Common mistake

As a verb ("to cabbage" something) it's old-fashioned slang for stealing scraps — not used in everyday speech.

Common pairings

a head of cabbage red cabbage cabbage soup

Word Forms

cabbaged past tense, cabbaged past tense, cabbages plural, cabbages singular, cabbages singular

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She shredded half a _____ into the coleslaw.

Etymology

From Middle English caboche ("head"), borrowed from Anglo-Norman caboche, likely built from Latin caput ("head") — the cabbage was named for its round, head-like shape.

Synonyms

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cabbage plant cole

Related Words

cole

Rhymes for cabbage

age wage cage page rage gage sage mage usage image stage adage

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