melon vine
1
3.9
- noun
- /ˈmɛlən vaɪn/
- During summer, the melon vine produced juicy watermelons that were perfect for picnics.
Examples
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The gardener trained the melon vine to grow along the trellis for better sunlight exposure.
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To ensure a good harvest, he carefully watered the melon vine every morning.
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It was a self-centered, stupid, arrogant, inconsiderate thing to do, and if you ever try it again, I'll use you to fertilize the melon vines.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
1
3.0
A climbing or trailing plant that grows a large green fruit with red inside
A vine that makes sweet melons like cantaloupe or honeydew
A vine that grows sweet melons with a netted rind, like cantaloupe
A melon with a net-like skin and sweet green flesh that people eat
A type of melon with rough tan skin and sweet orange flesh
A climbing plant that grows round melons with orange flesh
A plant that grows round melons with rough tan skin and orange flesh
A climbing plant that grows large smooth fruits used in Asian cooking
A tropical vine that makes a bitter yellow-orange fruit called bitter melon
How Mature
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a vine that produces melons' is directly and compositionally derived from 'melon' (a fruit) + 'vine' (a trailing/climbing plant), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the referent. This noun–noun compounding is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern and therefore highly predictable and transparent.
Etymology
Melon vine shows a simple picture: a melon growing on a long climbing vine that trails over the ground or a fence. That's why melon vine means 'a plant that produces melons'.