blackberry

blackberry — noun

IPA/ˈblækbəri/
KK[blˈækbˌɛri]IPA/ˈblækberi/
  • blackberrysingular
  • blackberriesplural

1. a juicy dark berry that grows on thorny bushes and is often used in pies, jam, o

1.nounB1
Definition

a juicy dark berry that grows on thorny bushes and is often used in pies, jam, or desserts.

Example

Layla baked blackberries into a warm pie for the village fair.

blackberries in pies and desserts

Joaquín picked ripe blackberries by the fence, staining both hands purple.

Common collocations
  • ripe blackberries
  • blackberry pie
  • blackberry jam

Grammar Patterns

a blackberry

some blackberries

Usage Note

Often used for fruit eaten fresh or cooked in jam, pies, and other sweets. In contexts about picking, staining fingers, or hedges, it usually refers to the fruit rather than the bush.

2. a thorny bush that produces blackberries.

2.nounB2
Definition

a thorny bush that produces blackberries.

Example

A blackberry spread across the old wall and caught Valentina's sleeve.

the bush itself, not the fruit

Tunde cut the blackberry back so the path stayed open.

Common collocations
  • wild blackberry
  • cut back a blackberry
  • blackberry bush
Synonyms
  • bramble

    broader; can refer to several thorny berry bushes, not only blackberry plants

Grammar Patterns

a blackberry

blackberries spread along + place

Usage Note

More common in gardening or countryside contexts than in everyday food talk. If the sentence mentions pruning, thorns, hedges, or spreading, the word usually means the plant.

blackberry — noun

IPA/ˈblækbəri/
KK[blˈækbˌɛri]IPA/ˈblækberi/
  • blackberrysingular
  • blackberriesplural

1. a trademarked handheld device, especially an older one used for email, messages,

1.nounB1
Definition

a trademarked handheld device, especially an older one used for email, messages, and internet access.

Example

Christopher answered work email on his Blackberry during the train ride.

older handheld email device

In 2009, many managers still carried a Blackberry instead of a smartphone.

Common collocations
  • Blackberry email
  • Blackberry keyboard
  • carry a Blackberry

Grammar Patterns

a Blackberry

use a Blackberry for email

Usage Note

Usually capitalized when it names the device brand. Today it often appears when people talk about older office technology rather than current phones.

Common Mistakes

I bought a blackberry for work.
I bought a Blackberry for work.
The device sense is a brand name, so English normally capitalizes it.

blackberry — verb

IPA/ˈblæk.bər.i/
KK[blˈækbˌɛri]IPA/ˈblæk.ber.i/

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Blackberry and raspberry are close because both are soft berries used in desserts, but a blackberry is usually darker, larger, and a little sharper in taste. Mulberry can also be dark and sweet, yet it grows on a tree, not on a thorny bush or hedge. Blueberry is smaller, smoother, and usually sweeter, so it does not suggest the same wild-picking scene as blackberry. In everyday English, blackberry often appears with pie, jam, stained fingers, hedges, and summer picking. Raspberry is common in cakes and yoghurt, while blueberry more often suggests muffins or pancakes. If a recipe asks for blackberries, expect a deeper colour and a stronger, earthier fruit taste.

blackberry ↗raspberry ↗mulberry ↗blueberry ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

The fruit word is an old English compound built from black and berry, named for the fruit's deep dark colour. English later used the same word for the thorny bush that grows the fruit. The technology sense came much later from the brand name BlackBerry, reportedly chosen because the keyboard buttons looked like the small bumps on the fruit.

First known use

12th century

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1