noun
Kraut
krowt
noun
1
(informal, often derogatory) A German person.
"The old war film used "kraut" as a slur for German soldiers."
verb
1
To turn cabbage into sauerkraut by fermenting it.
"They krauted several heads of cabbage for winter storage."
How to Use Kraut
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishLiterally "cabbage" in German; in English it became an old, often offensive slang term for a German person.
Common mistake
As a term for a person, it's an ethnic slur with wartime origins — avoid using it that way.
When to use it
The "German person" sense is dated and derogatory.
Word Forms
krauted past tense, Krauts plural, krauts singular
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The old war film used "_____" as a slur for German soldiers.
Etymology
From German Kraut, meaning "cabbage", a nod to the German fondness for sauerkraut. The nickname for Germans became widespread during the First and Second World Wars.