It’s often said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. How about a language lesson (or two) a day? Grow your vocabulary in English to a healthy size with these words for fruits!

Names of fruits in English

We’ve gathered some popular fruit words for your reference below.

  • apple
  • apricot
  • avocado
  • banana
  • blackberry
  • blueberry
  • cantaloupe
  • cherry
  • clementine
  • coconut
  • cranberry
  • date
  • dragon fruit
  • fig
  • grape
  • grapefruit
  • guava
  • honeydew
  • kiwi
  • lemon
  • lime
  • lychee
  • mango
  • nectarine
  • olive
  • orange
  • papaya
  • passionfruit
  • peach
  • pear
  • pineapple
  • plum
  • pomegranate
  • raspberry
  • star fruit
  • strawberry
  • tangerine
  • tomato
  • watermelon

Words for discussing and describing fruit

When shopping for fruit, you may want to describe its appearance, taste, texture, or origin to help you decide what to get. 

If the fruit is ready to eat, it is ripe. If it is not ready to eat, you can say it is green (even if it is not actually the color green) or not ripe. You could describe its skin as shiny, waxy, or russeted, which means that it has some rough reddish-brown patches on it.

For describing taste, a fruit could be jammy, sour, sweet, tangy, tart, or zesty. The inside of the fruit may be crisp, fibrous, fleshy, hard, juicy, or soft—and if it’s gone bad, it might be mealy. Sometimes fruits produced in tropical regions, like the mango, are grouped into the category of tropical. Fruits that can withstand colder temperatures are grouped into the category of temperate fruits, like the apple.

Other categories for fruits are a bit more scientific. There are citrus fruits, which are juicy fruits high in vitamin C like oranges, lemons, limes, or grapefruits, among others. There are also stone fruits or drupes, which have a stone or hard pit in the center. These include cherries, coconuts, mangos, olives, peaches, and plums. 

The category of berry refers to a fleshy fruit with multiple seeds. While it is understandable that blueberries and cranberries are members of this group, it may come as a surprise that avocados, bananas, grapes, and tomatoes are, too! And believe it or not, blackberries and raspberries are classified as drupes or clusters of tiny drupes instead of berries, despite their names. 

Finally, you can accessorize with the category of accessory fruits, which are fleshy fruits that develop from plant parts adjacent to the flower. These include the apple, the fig, and…the strawberry (another misnomer!).

While comparing two languages is sometimes like apples and oranges (see below!), there are a lot of fun idioms in English that use fruit! Here are a few of the most common.

English idiom Meaning Example sentence
an apple a day keeps the doctor away doing something small can benefit your health Eating fruit is good for your health. Like they say, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!”
apple of my eye very important to me I would do anything for you. You are the apple of my eye.
apples and/to oranges two very different things that are not comparable You can’t compare your grade in math class to my grade in theater class. It’s like comparing apples to oranges.
bad apple (one bad apple spoils the barrel/bunch) a person known for making trouble That new kid is always getting into trouble. He is one bad apple.
the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree a child shows characteristics of or acts like their parent Both my dad and I locked ourselves out of our cars on the same day! I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
upset the apple cart make a commotion or disruption I disagreed with her but kept quiet. I didn’t want to upset the apple cart.
go bananas be extremely excited (or angry) After a long week of work, sometimes I feel like I am going to go bananas!
a bowl of cherries something wonderful and full of great things There are so many new and fun places to visit. Life is just a bowl of cherries!
a cherry on top an extra thing that really makes something great or special, like a cherry on an ice cream sundae It’s great that you can go to the party. If you could give me a ride, too, that would be the cherry on top!
cherry picking choosing the best of what is there With all the tasks left to do, he started cherry picking the easiest ones.
use your coconut use your brain, be smart about something You don’t know where the battery is? Use your coconut!
cool as a cucumber remaining calm (or actually being cool in temperature) During her big presentation, she was as cool as a cucumber.
not worth a fig not worth anything This argument is not worth a fig!
bear fruit have positive outcomes We are hoping that our hard work will bear fruit soon.
forbidden fruit someone or something that you should avoid, often used dramatically (a reference to the Biblical story of the Garden of Eden) Because he was dating someone, I considered him forbidden fruit.
low-hanging fruit the most accessible item you can reach, something easy to accomplish To gain some momentum on this project, let’s start with some of the low-hanging fruit.
sour grapes having a bad or disparaging attitude, especially about something you cannot have (from Aesop’s Fables) He chose not to come on the trip but then posted comments on our photos that were purely sour grapes.
a lemon usually a car that has something (possibly hidden) wrong with it Make sure to check the history of a used car or you might be stuck with a lemon.
when life gives/hands you lemons (make lemonade) make the best of a (usually unfavorable) situation There was no snow on our ski trip so we decided to go hiking instead. You know, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
extend an olive branch try to make peace with someone We hadn’t spoken for a while, but I decided to extend an olive branch and invite them to the barbecue.
a peach a kind or good person He just brought me a hot coffee! What a peach!
a plum job a desirable job, often one that includes good perks without a lot of stress or work She hesitated to start her own company because she didn’t want to leave her plum job.

You are the apples of our eye!

Now that you know some common fruit words, add to your vocabulary with these common words and phrases for navigating a restaurant in English!