From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_807_pvegetablevege‧ta‧ble1 /ˈvedʒtəbəl/ ●●● S3 W3 noun [countable] 1 DFHBPa plant that is eaten raw or cooked, such as a cabbage, a carrot, or peas fresh fruit and vegetables organic methods of growing vegetables vegetable soup a neat vegetable garden Vitamin A is found in liver and green vegetables.salad vegetables (=vegetables such as lettuce or tomatoes eaten raw)GRAMMAR: Countable or uncountable?• Vegetable is used as a countable noun: Her son doesn’t like eating vegetables. ✗Don’t say: Her son doesn’t like eating vegetable.• Vegetable is used before nouns, for example vegetable soup, vegetable oil. ✗Don’t say: vegetables soup2 not polite an offensive word for someone who is alive but who cannot talk or move because their brain is damagedCOLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + vegetable freshFresh vegetables taste best immediately after they’ve been picked.rawSome vegetables are better eaten raw.organic (=grown without using chemicals)Most supermarkets sell organic fruit and vegetables.tinned/cannedDo canned vegetables have as many vitamins as fresh ones?frozenpackets of frozen vegetablesgreen vegetablesEat plenty of green vegetables.leafy vegetablesLeafy vegetables contain iron, which is good for the blood.root vegetables (=vegetables whose roots you eat, such as carrots)Excellent soups can be made from root vegetables.a salad vegetable (=a vegetable that is eaten raw in a salad)You can buy ready-prepared salad vegetables.baby vegetables (=vegetables that have not grown to their full size)Baby vegetables, especially carrots and corn, appeal to youngsters.vegetable + NOUNvegetable soupI think I’ll have the vegetable soup.vegetable stock (=a liquid in which vegetables have been cooked)Gently cook the mushrooms and onions in the vegetable stock.vegetable oilShe uses vegetable oil instead of lard.a vegetable garden/patch/plotAnna was digging in the vegetable garden.verbsgrow vegetablesIf we had a garden, we could grow our own vegetables.
Examples from the Corpus
green vegetables• Make sure to eat plenty of green vegetables.vegetablevegetable2 adjective [only before noun] formal relating to plants in general, rather than animals or things that are not living → mineral decomposing vegetable matterOrigin vegetable (1300-1400) Medieval Latin vegetabilis “growing”, from vegetare “to grow”, from Latin vegere “to cause to act, excite” 