cabbage

UK: /ˈkæbɪdʒ/ US: /ˈkæbɪdʒ/ ,(kab′ij)

Inflections of 'cabbage' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

cabbages

v 3rd person singular

cabbaging

v pres p

cabbaged

v past

cabbaged

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

cab•bage¹ /ˈkæbɪdʒ/   n. 

1. Plant Biology [countable] a plant, of the mustard family, having a short stem and leaves that form into a rounded head.
2. Plant Biology the head or leaves of this plant, eaten cooked or raw:
   [uncountable] I ate corned beef and cabbage.
3. Slang Terms [uncountable] money, esp. paper money.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cab•bage¹  (kab′ij), n. 

1. Plant Biology any of several cultivated varieties of a plant, Brassica oleracea capitata, of the mustard family, having a short stem and leaves formed into a compact, edible head.
2. Plant Biology the head or leaves of this plant, eaten cooked or raw.
3. Slang Terms money, esp. paper money.
4. British Terms [Chiefly Brit. Informal.]
   • a stupid, dull, or spiritless person.
   • a mentally impaired person who is unable to live independently;
     vegetable.

• dialect, dialectal Old French (Picardy, Normandy) literally, head, noggin, equivalent. to ca- formative in expressive words, of uncertain origin, originally + boche; see boss², botch²
• Middle English caboche, caboge, cabage head of cabbage 1350–1400

cab′bage•like′, adj. 

cab•bage²  (kab′ij), n., v., -baged, -bag•ing. 
n. 

1. Clothing [Chiefly Brit.]
   • British Terms cloth scraps that remain after a garment has been cut from a fabric and that by custom the tailor may claim.
   • British Terms Also called cab. such scraps used for reprocessing.

v.t., v.i. 

2. to steal;
   pilfer:
   He cabbaged whole yards of cloth.

• earlier carbage shred, piece of cloth, apparently variant of garbage wheat straw chopped small (obsolete sense) 1615–25

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cabbage / ˈkæbɪdʒ/ noun

1. Also called: cole any of various cultivated varieties of the plant Brassica oleracea capitata, typically having a short thick stalk and a large head of green or reddish edible leaves: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
   See also brassica, savoy
   Compare skunk cabbage, Chinese cabbage
2. the head of a cabbage
3. the edible leaf bud of the cabbage palm
4. a dull or unimaginative person
5. a person with severely impaired mental and physical ability who is dependent on others for his or her subsistence

Etymology: 14th Century: from Norman French caboche head; perhaps related to Old French boce hump, bump, Latin caput head