cranberry

IPA/ˈkrænbəri/
KK[krˈænbˌɛri]IPA/ˈkrænberi/

cranberry — noun

  • cranberrysingular
  • cranberriesplural

1. About the size of a pea, this sour-tasting red fruit grows on low bushes in cold

1.nounA2
Definition

About the size of a pea, this sour-tasting red fruit grows on low bushes in cold, wet regions. People cook it with sugar or dry it to make sauce, juice, and baked goods.

Example

Every autumn, the Okonkwo family picks fresh cranberries from the bog near their farm.

collocation: cranberry bog

Eleni added dried cranberries to her oatmeal for a sweet-and-sour breakfast.

dried cranberries in cooking

Common collocations
  • cranberry sauce
  • cranberry juice
  • dried cranberries
  • fresh cranberries
  • cranberry bog
  • cranberry harvest

Grammar Patterns

cranberry + noun (attributive)

Usage Note

Fresh cranberries are very sour and are almost always cooked with sugar or dried before eating. Raw cranberries are rarely eaten on their own.

Common Mistakes

I put some cranberries in my tea.
I put some dried cranberries in my tea.
Fresh cranberries are too sour to steep in tea; the dried version is used as a flavouring or snack.

2. a low evergreen bush that grows in cold, wet ground and produces the sour red be

2.nounB1
Definition

a low evergreen bush that grows in cold, wet ground and produces the sour red berries called cranberries

Example

The cranberry vines spread across the flooded bog on the Yamamoto family's farm.

cranberry vine / flooded bog cultivation

Cranberry needs cold winters and plenty of water to produce a good crop.

Common collocations
  • cranberry bush
  • cranberry plant
  • cranberry vine
  • cranberry bog
Synonyms
  • cranberry bush

    more specific — refers to the plant rather than the fruit

Common Mistakes

We need to water the cranberries in the garden.' (when referring to the plants)
We need to water the cranberry bushes in the garden.
The berry itself is called a cranberry, but the plant is more clearly referred to as a cranberry bush or cranberry plant.

Word family

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • cranberry sauce
  • cranberry juice
  • dried cranberries
  • cranberry bog

Etymology

GermanicLow GermanEnglish

The word 'cranberry' comes from a blend of 'crane' (the long-legged bird) and 'berry'. Early European settlers in North America thought the flower of the plant looked like the head and neck of a crane, so they called it 'crane berry'. Over time, the pronunciation shifted to 'cranberry'.