vegetable
vege·table [vegetable vegetables] BrE [ˈvedʒtəbl] NAmE [ˈvedʒtəbl] noun 
1. (also informal veg·gie especially in NAmE)a plant or part of a plant that is eaten as food. Potatoes, ↑beans and onions are all vegetables
•green vegetables (= for example ↑cabbage )
•root vegetables (= for example ↑carrots )
•a salad of raw vegetables
•a vegetable garden/patch/plot
•vegetable matter (= plants in general)
compare ↑animal, ↑fruit, ↑mineral
2. (BrE also cab·bage)a person who is physically alive but not capable of much mental or physical activity, for example because of an accident or illness
• Severe brain damage turned him into a vegetable.
3. a person who has a boring life
• Since losing my job I've been a vegetable.
See also: ↑cabbage ▪ ↑veggie
Word Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘growing as a plant’): from Old French, or from late Latin vegetabilis ‘animating’, from Latin vegetare, from vegetus ‘active’, from vegere ‘be active’. The current sense dates from the late 16th cent.
Example Bank:
•The children don't eat enough green vegetables.
•They grow all their own vegetables.
•a salad of crisp, raw vegetables
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