noun

rhubarb

ROO-bahb

noun

A garden plant with long, tart red or green stalks that are cooked and eaten, usually sweetened, while its leaves are poisonous.

"She baked a rhubarb crumble with a scoop of custard on top."

"The rhubarb in the garden is ready to pick in early summer."

A loud, confused argument or disturbance, especially at a sporting event.

"A rhubarb broke out at home plate after the controversial call."

How to Use Rhubarb

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA tart plant used in cooking (its stalks, not leaves), or informally, a noisy dispute.

Common mistake

Only the stalks are eaten — the leaves are toxic and should never be cooked or eaten.

Common pairings

rhubarb crumble rhubarb pie stewed rhubarb

Word Forms

rhubarbed past tense, rhubarbed past tense, rhubarb plural, rhubarbs plural, rhubarbs plural, rhubarbs singular, rhubarbs singular

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She baked a _____ crumble with a scoop of custard on top.

Etymology

From Old French reubarbe, ultimately from Greek rheon barbarikon, literally "foreign rhubarb" — because the plant was imported from outside the Greek and Roman world.