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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

pumpkin.

A domesticated plant, in species Cucurbita pepo, similar in growth pattern, foliage, flower, and fruit to the squash or melon.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpʌmpkɪn/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpʌm(p).kɪn/US[ˈpʰʌm(p).kʰɪn]US[ˈpʰʌŋ̥kɪn]US
  1. A domesticated plant, in species Cucurbita pepo, similar in growth pattern, foliage, flower, and fruit to the squash or melon.

    countable · uncountable
  2. The round yellow or orange fruit of this plant.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The typical color of the ripe fruit of the pumpkin plant.

    uncountable
  4. Any of a number of cultivars from the genus Cucurbita; known in the US as winter squash.

    Australia · countable · uncountable
  5. A term of endearment for someone small and cute.

    US · countable · uncountable
  6. The housing for a differential, built into an axle of a vehicle; the housing and its contents.

    countable · informal · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Alteration of pompion, pumpion (“pumpkin”) with the diminutive -kin, from Middle French pompon, from Latin pepō (whence English pepo), from Ancient Greek πέπων (pépōn, “large melon”), from πέπων (pépōn, “ripe”), from πέπτω (péptō, “ripen”). The first attestation is from 1647. The alternative theory that it may be from Massachusett pôhpukun (“grows forth round”) is false. The automotive sense is by fancied resemblance.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.