cranberry

UK: /ˈkrænbəri/

US: /ˈkrænˌbɛri, -bəri/

US: (kran′ber′ē, -bə rē)

Inflections of 'cranberry' (n): npl: cranberries

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

cran•ber•ry /ˈkrænˌbɛri, -bəri/   n. [countable] , pl. -ries. 

1. Plant Biology the sour red berry of certain plants of the heath family, used esp. to make a sauce or juice:
   cranberry sauce.
2. Plant Biology the plant itself, growing wild in bogs or cultivated in acid soils.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cran•ber•ry  (kran′ber′ē, -bə rē), n., pl. -ries. 

1. Plant Biology the red, acid fruit or berry of certain plants of the genus Vaccinium, of the heath family, as V. macrocarpon (large cranberry or American cranberry) or V. oxycoccus (small cranberry or European cranberry,) used in making sauce, relish, jelly, or juice.
2. Plant Biology the plant itself, growing wild in bogs or cultivated in acid soils, esp. in the northeastern U.S.

• Low German kraanbere. See crane, berry
• 1640–50, American.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cranberry / ˈkrænbərɪ -brɪ/ noun ( -ries)

1. any of several trailing ericaceous shrubs of the genus Vaccinium, such as the European V. oxycoccus, that bear sour edible red berries
2. the berry of this plant, used to make sauce or jelly

Etymology: 17th Century: from Low German kraanbere, from kraan crane + bere berry