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onion

Pronunciation: /ˈʌnjən/
Translate onion | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of onion

noun

  • 1a swollen edible bulb used as a vegetable, having a pungent taste and smell and composed of several concentric layers: cook the onion in the oil until lightly coloured [as modifier]:onion rings
  • 2the plant that produces the onion, with long rolled or strap-like leaves and spherical heads of greenish-white flowers.
    • Allium cepa, family Liliaceae (or Alliaceae)

Phrases

know one's onions

informal be very knowledgeable about something: Fred knows his onions about Social Credit

Derivatives

oniony

adjective

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French oignon, based on Latin unio(n-), denoting a kind of onion

onion in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of onion in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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