[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/plantain.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / plantain

[← P](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/P/)

# plantain

«plantain» in Mova's school dictionary: **usually cooked before eating, often fried, boiled or…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a plantain, plantains)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A fruit like a big banana that is usually cooked before eating, often fried, boiled or baked; popular in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/#m1)

2) A common wild plant (weed) with flat leaves close to the ground and thin spikes of tiny flowers; it grows on lawns and paths. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In food lessons about the Caribbean and West Africa, fried plantain is a favourite side dish. In nature lessons in the UK and Ireland, plantain is a weed on school fields; ribwort plantain stems can be used for a «soldiers» conker-like game. Phrases: «fried plantain», «ripe plantain», «green plantain», «ribwort plantain».

### examples

- Fried plantain is sweet and soft when it is ripe. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/#x1)
- Plantains look like bananas but are usually cooked. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/#x2)
- My Nigerian friend's mum makes plantain with rice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/#x3)
- Green plantain is hard and starchy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/#x4)
- There is plantain growing all over our lawn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/#x5)
- We played a game knocking the heads off ribwort plantain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/#x6)

### note

Countable. Pronounced PLAN-tin or plan-TAYN. Two very different meanings: a cooking banana and a weed. Trap: do not eat wild plants unless an adult knows they are safe.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «plantain» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.