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rhubarb

Pronunciation: /ˈruːbɑːb/

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Definition of rhubarb

noun

[mass noun]

1the thick reddish or green leaf stalks of a cultivated plant of the dock family, which are eaten as a fruit after cooking: [as modifier]:rhubarb pie

2the large-leaved Eurasian plant which produces rhubarb.
- Rheum rhaponticum (or rhabarbarum), family Polygonaceae
used in names of other plants of the same genus as rhubarb, several of which are used medicinally, e.g. Chinese rhubarb.

3British informal the noise made by a group of actors to give the impression of indistinct background conversation, especially by the random repetition of the word ‘rhubarb’.
nonsense:it was all rhubarb, about me, about her daughter, about art

4 [count noun] North American informal a heated dispute: rhubarbs often broke out among these less than professional players

Origin:

late Middle English (denoting the rootstock of other plants of this genus used medicinally): from Old French reubarbe, from a shortening of medieval Latin rheubarbarum, alteration (by association with rheum 'rhubarb') of rhabarbarum 'foreign rhubarb', from Greek rha (also meaning 'rhubarb') + barbaros 'foreign'

Spelling help

The beginning of rhubarb is spelled rhu-.

rhubarb in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of rhubarb in the US English dictionary

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