cherry plum: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
LowSpecialist/Technical, Everyday (within gardening/fruit-growing contexts)
Quick answer
What does “cherry plum” mean?
A small, round fruit, a hybrid of cherry and plum species, typically yellow, red, or purple, with a sweet-tart flavour.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A small, round fruit, a hybrid of cherry and plum species, typically yellow, red, or purple, with a sweet-tart flavour.
The small deciduous tree (Prunus cerasifera) that produces this fruit, often grown ornamentally for its early spring blossom.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Slight preference in the UK for 'cherry plum' for the ornamental tree and its fruit; in US gardening/horticulture, 'myrobalan plum' is a more frequent synonym, especially for the rootstock.
Connotations
In the UK, often associated with urban/suburban foraging and early spring colour; in the US, may have stronger connotations as a rootstock for other fruit trees.
Frequency
Generally low frequency in both varieties. Likely slightly higher in UK due to prevalence of the tree in hedgerows and parks.
Grammar
How to Use “cherry plum” in a Sentence
The [ADJ] cherry plumto harvest/pick cherry plumsa tree/shrub of cherry plumVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “cherry plum” in a Sentence
adjective
British English
- The cherry-plum conserve was a winner at the village fête.
American English
- She made a cherry-plum cobbler from the backyard tree.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Virtually unused, except in niche contexts like fruit import/export or nursery stock.
Academic
Used in botany, horticulture, and pomology to refer to a specific species and its hybrids.
Everyday
Used by gardeners, foragers, and home cooks; otherwise uncommon in general conversation.
Technical
Standard term in horticulture for the species and as a rootstock name. Also used in botanical taxonomy.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “cherry plum”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “cherry plum”
- Using 'cherry plum' as a verb or adjective (it is almost exclusively a noun compound).
- Capitalising it as a proper name (except at start of sentence).
- Confusing it with 'plum cherry' or other stone fruit hybrids like 'pluot'.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) is a distinct species. A pluot is a later hybrid, primarily a cross between a plum and an apricot.
Yes, the fruit is edible. It can be eaten raw when fully ripe, though it is often quite tart, and is commonly used in jams, jellies, and baked goods.
The name comes from the fruit's small size and appearance, which is similar to a cherry, and its botanical relation to the plum family. The tree's blossoms also resemble those of cherry trees.
They are native to Southeast Europe and Western Asia but are widely naturalised and cultivated in temperate regions worldwide, often in gardens, parks, and as hedgerow trees.
A small, round fruit, a hybrid of cherry and plum species, typically yellow, red, or purple, with a sweet-tart flavour.
Cherry plum is usually specialist/technical, everyday (within gardening/fruit-growing contexts) in register.
Cherry plum: in British English it is pronounced /ˈtʃɛri ˈplʌm/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈtʃɛri ˈplʌm/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a CHERRY dressed up for a fancy PLUM party – a small, round fruit that's a bit of both.
Conceptual Metaphor
EARLY PROMISE (the tree is one of the first to blossom in spring); HYBRID VITALITY (combining qualities of two fruits).
Practice
Quiz
What is 'Prunus cerasifera' the scientific name for?