ap ‧ ple S2 W3 /ˈæp ə l/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: æppel ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] a hard round fruit that has red, light green, or yellow skin and is white inside:
apple pie
an apple tree
roast pork and apple sauce (=a thick sauce made from cooked apples)
⇨ ↑ cooking apple , ↑ eating apple
2 . be the apple of sb’s eye to be loved very much by someone:
Ben was always the apple of his father’s eye.
3 . bob/dunk/dip for apples to play a game in which you must use your teeth to pick up apples floating in water
4 . be as American as apple pie used to describe something that is typically American
5 . the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree American English used to say that children are usually similar to their parents, especially in a bad way
⇨ upset the apple cart at ↑ upset 1 (4), ⇨ a rotten apple at ↑ rotten 1 (7), ⇨ ADAM’S APPLE , ↑ Big Apple
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ juicy
a juicy green apple
▪ sweet
This apple’s really sweet and delicious.
▪ sour/tart (=not at all sweet)
Some people prefer a slightly sour apple.
▪ rotten (=bad, so that the skin goes brown)
There were a few rotten apples lying on the ground.
▪ an eating/dessert apple (=one which is sweet enough to eat)
Use dessert apples for this recipe.
▪ a cooking apple
▪ a baked apple (=one that has been cooked in the oven)
■ verbs
▪ eat an apple
Some people say that you should eat an apple every day.
▪ bite into an apple
Sue bit into her apple with a loud crunch.
▪ munch on an apple (=eat it)
He was munching on an apple.
▪ peel an apple (=remove the skin)
Peel the apples and slice them finely.
▪ core an apple (=remove the middle part containing the seeds)
Core the apples and cut into quarters.