blueberry

IPA/ˈbluːbəri/
KK[blˈubˌɛri]IPA/ˈbluːberi/

blueberry — noun

  • blueberrysingular
  • blueberriesplural

1. a small sweet berry with dark blue skin, often eaten fresh or used in pies, muff

1.nounA2
Definition

a small sweet berry with dark blue skin, often eaten fresh or used in pies, muffins, and other food

Example

Aiko dropped blueberries into pancake batter in the warm kitchen.

add blueberries to batter

At the market, Ravi chose the firmest blueberries for his lunchbox.

buy or choose blueberries

Common collocations
  • fresh blueberries
  • frozen blueberries
  • blueberry muffin
  • blueberry pie
  • pick blueberries
Synonyms
  • berry

    a broader word; a blueberry is one specific kind of berry

  • bilberry

    a similar fruit, but usually smaller and more strongly linked with Europe

  • blackberry

    another berry, but it is larger, darker, and made of many joined parts

Grammar Patterns

eat blueberries

pick blueberries

add blueberries to batter

Usage Note

Usually countable when you mean one fruit or separate berries. In recipes and shopping, the plural form blueberries is especially common.

Common Mistakes

I bought blueberry for breakfast.
I bought some blueberries for breakfast.
Use the plural form for several berries.
She ate blueberry after class.
She ate a blueberry after class.
Use a or an when you mean one fruit.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Blueberry names one particular small blue fruit, so it is more exact than berry, which can refer to many fruits of this type. Bilberry is very similar in meaning and appearance, but it is more often used for a wild European fruit rather than the common fruit sold in North American shops. Blackberry is another familiar berry word, but it refers to a larger, almost black fruit made of many small joined parts. Use blueberry when you mean this specific fruit in food or shopping contexts. You can say We baked blueberry muffins, but We picked blackberries describes a different fruit.

blueberry ↗berry ↗bilberry ↗blackberry ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • blueberry bush
  • blueberry muffin
  • blueberry pie
  • blueberry jam

Phrases

  • eat blueberries
  • pick blueberries
  • wash the blueberries
  • freeze blueberries

Etymology

English

Blueberry is a compound formed in English from blue and berry. The name describes the fruit by its color and by the fact that it is a kind of berry.