plural gourds
1
: any of a family (Cucurbitaceae, the gourd family) of chiefly herbaceous tendril-bearing vines including the cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin
2
: the fruit of a gourd : pepo
especially
: any of various hard-rinded inedible fruits of plants of two genera (Lagenaria and Cucurbita) often used for ornament or for vessels and utensils
Walking through the various barrios, you might see people sharing sips from a little gourd with a straw in it. —Bruce Sanderson
… a basketball-size gourd draped with a veil of wooden beads—to incite individual bursts of improvisation from the orchestra's players. —The New Yorker
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Cite this Entry
“Gourd.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gourd. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.
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