celery

IPA/ˈseləri/
KK[sˈɛlɚi]IPA/ˈseləri/

celery — noun

1. A pale green or white plant with long, firm, crunchy stems that grow together in

1.nounA2
Definition

A pale green or white plant with long, firm, crunchy stems that grow together in a bunch. People eat it raw in salads or with dips, or cook it in soups and other dishes.

Example

Emily chopped two stalks of celery and added them to the pot of chicken soup.

chopped [amount] of celery + added to [dish]

The children dipped fresh celery sticks into peanut butter for an after-school snack.

celery sticks + 'dipped into' for eating with a dip

Common collocations
  • celery stalk
  • stalk of celery
  • celery stick
  • celery rib
  • head of celery
  • bunch of celery
  • diced celery
  • chopped celery

Grammar Patterns

stalk(s)/head(s)/stick(s) of celery

celery + noun (celery soup, celery salt, celery stalk)

Usage Note

Frequently uncountable (e.g., 'I like celery in my salad'), but countable when referring to individual stems or pieces (e.g., 'a stalk of celery', 'three celery sticks').

Common Mistakes

I bought two celeries from the store.
I bought two heads of celery from the store.
Celery is usually uncountable; use 'heads of celery', 'stalks of celery', or 'bunches of celery' for counting.

Word family

  • celeriac
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Celery is the general name for the vegetable itself — the whole plant as sold or cooked. A 'celery stick' (or 'stalk' or 'rib') is one individual stem from the bunch. 'Celery rib' is a more technical term gardeners and chefs use for the individual stem with its leafy top, while most shoppers say 'stalk' or 'stick'. 'Celeriac' is a different plant: a round, knobby root vegetable related to celery, eaten mashed or in salads. Use 'celery' for the bunch or the vegetable in general ('a bunch of celery', 'celery soup'), and 'celery stick' for the single piece you bite into with a dip.

celery ↗celery stickcelery ribceleriac

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • stalk of celery
  • stalk(s) of celery
  • head of celery
  • bunch of celery
  • celery stick(s)
  • celery rib(s)

Etymology

GreekLatinItalianFrenchEnglish

The word 'celery' entered English in the 1600s from French 'céleri', which came from Italian 'sedano' (or 'seleri'). The Italian word traces back to Latin 'selīnon', borrowed from Greek 'σέλινον' (sélinon), the ancient name for wild celery or parsley. The plant was first used as a medicine and only later became a common cooking vegetable.