cherry
Listen:Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
cherry/ˈtʃeri/
▶noun (pl. cherries)
- 1 a small, soft round stone fruit that is typically bright or dark red.
- 2 the tree that bears cherries. [Prunus avium (wild cherry), P. cerasus (sour cherry), and other species and varieties.]
- 3 a bright deep red colour.
- 4 (one's cherry) informal one's virginity.
– phrases
a bite at the cherry Brit. an attempt or opportunity.
a bowl of cherries [with neg.] a very pleasant situation.
the cherry on the cake a desirable thing providing the finishing touch to something already very good.
a bite at the cherry Brit. an attempt or opportunity.
a bowl of cherries [with neg.] a very pleasant situation.
the cherry on the cake a desirable thing providing the finishing touch to something already very good.
– origin ME: from Old North. Fr. cherise (taken as pl.), from med. L. ceresia, based on Gk kerasos ‘cherry tree, cherry’.
'cherry' also found in these Oxford entries:
bird cherry
- cerise
- cherry brandy
- cherry laurel
- cherry-pick
- cherry picker
- cherry pie
- cherry plum
- cherry tomato
- choke cherry
- cornel
- cornelian cherry
- deadly nightshade
- gean
- hawfinch
- kirsch
- maraschino
- morello
- myrobalan
- prunus
- stone
- stone fruit
- weep
- wild cherry
