# cherry

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈt͡ʃɛɹi/ · frequency rank #5,303

## Definitions
1. A small fruit, usually red, black or yellow, with a smooth hard seed and a short hard stem.
2. Prunus subg. Cerasus, trees or shrubs that bear cherries.
3. The wood of a cherry tree.
4. Cherry red.
5. The fruit of the coffee plant, containing the seeds or beans.
6. Virginity, especially female virginity as embodied by a hymen.
7. A subtree consisting of a node with exactly two leaves.
8. A red cricket ball.
9. A reddish mark left on the bat by the impact of the ball.
10. A round, red light of the kind that is typically mounted on top of a police car.
11. The burning tip of a cigarette.

## Etymology
From Middle English chery, cherie, chirie, from Anglo-Norman cherise (mistaken as a plural) and Old English ċiris, ċirse (“cherry”), from Proto-West Germanic *kirsijā, from Vulgar Latin ceresia, derived from Late Latin ceresium, cerasium, from Ancient Greek κεράσιον (kerásion, “cherry fruit”), from κερασός (kerasós, “bird cherry”), and ultimately possibly of Anatolian origin (the intervocalic σ suggests a pre-Greek origin for the word). Doublet of cerise, Giresun, and kirsch.

## Easily confused with
- **curry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cherry-vs-curry)
- **chevy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cherry-vs-chevy)
- **chewy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cherry-vs-chewy)
- **clergy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cherry-vs-clergy)
- **Cheryl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cherry-vs-cheryl)
- **cleary** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cherry-vs-cleary)
- **cherub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cherry-vs-cherub)
- **Cher** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cher-vs-cherry)
- **carry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carry-vs-cherry)
- **cheer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cheer-vs-cherry)
- **Cerro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cerro-vs-cherry)
- **Cheri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cheri-vs-cherry)
- **cheers** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cheers-vs-cherry)
- **cheesy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cheesy-vs-cherry)
- **cheeky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cheeky-vs-cherry)
- **Cheney** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cheney-vs-cherry)
- **cheery** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cheery-vs-cherry)
- **Cherie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cherie-vs-cherry)

## Common misspellings (8)
`ccherry`, `cehrry`, `cherryy`, `chery`, `cheryr`, `chherry`, `chrery`, `hcerry`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cherry