water chestnut
noun
any aquatic plant of the genus Trapa, bearing an edible, nutlike fruit, especially T. natans, of the Old World.
the fruit itself.
Also called
water caltrop.
Origin of water chestnut
First recorded in 1850–55
Words nearby water chestnut
water buffalo,
water bug,
water butt,
water cannon,
water carrier,
water chestnut,
water chinquapin,
water clock,
water closet,
water clover,
water cooler
Example sentences from the Web for water chestnut
Once I was as full of romance as a water-chestnut is of starch.
Parrot & Co. |Harold MacGrath
British Dictionary definitions for water chestnut
water chestnut
noun
Also called: water caltrop
a floating aquatic onagraceous plant, Trapa natans, of Asia, having four-pronged edible nutlike fruits
Chinese water chestnut
a Chinese cyperaceous plant, Eleocharis tuberosa, with an edible succulent corm
the corm of the Chinese water chestnut, used in Oriental cookery