🍊 A sour fruit 🌳 A citrus tree

bitter orange

1 5.9

A type of orange tree that produces small sour fruit and is used for grafting and marmalade

noun
/ˈbɪtər ˈɔrɪndʒ/

: naranjo amargo

Gardeners often use bitter orange as a rootstock for grafting other citrus varieties.

Examples

The bitter orange tree thrives in warm climates.
Gardeners often use bitter orange as a rootstock for grafting other citrus varieties.
The bitter orange is commonly used to make traditional English marmalade.
The peel of the bitter orange is valued in some herbal medicines.
Many chefs prefer using bitter oranges for their unique flavor.
The bitter orange is commonly used to make traditional English marmalade.
Many chefs prefer using bitter oranges for their unique flavor.

Synonyms

Seville orange

vsbitter orange

1 6.5

A bitter sour orange used to make marmalade and to grow other citrus trees

is the wider species term covering other culinary and grafting uses

bitter orange tree

vsbitter orange

1 6.3

A tree that produces sour oranges used for marmalade and grafting

is the general term focusing on its fruit and uses rather than botanical label

Citrus aurantium

vsbitter orange

Specialized

1 7.7

An orange tree with bitter fruit used for marmalade and flavoring

is the familiar common name used in cooking and gardening

bigarade

vsbitter orange

Specialized

9.9

A type of orange tree that makes bitter fruit and is used to grow other orange trees

is the broader name for the species, not only a single cultivated variety

marmalade orange

vsbitter orange

6.9

A small orange tree that makes sour fruit used for marmalade and to start new orange trees

is the general species used both for marmalade and for grafting stock

sour orange

vsbitter orange

5.0

A tree that makes bitter oranges used as root for other orange trees and for marmalade

is the common name focusing on taste rather than botanical classification

Antonyms

sweet orange

1 1.0

A round fruit with sweet juice and orange skin

Surface Forms

bitter orange singular

bitter oranges plural

Morphology

bitter + orange

The noun phrase denotes an orange (or orange tree/fruit) that has a bitter taste, which is directly and literally composed from 'bitter' (having an unpleasant/acrid taste) + 'orange' (the fruit/tree). This straightforward compositional meaning is cross-linguistically common and follows normal adjective + noun patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Bitter orange names the tree that makes a sour fruit: bitter points to the fruit's sharp taste and orange names the fruit it bears. The tree is often used as a root when grafting other citrus or to make 'marmalade', so the name refers to the tree that produces the bitter fruit.