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# plantain

noun (a plantain, plantains)

«plantain» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

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://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://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/#m2)

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

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «plantain» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plantain/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«plantain» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/plantain.html) on Mova free.