inedible

adjective

in·​ed·​i·​ble (ˌ)i-ˈne-də-bəl How to pronounce inedible (audio)
: not fit to be eaten

Examples of inedible in a Sentence

The steak was overcooked, but not inedible.
Recent Examples on the Web When in doubt, trim the asparagus ends so you aren't left chewing for far too long on an inedible piece. Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 1 Mar. 2024 The report warns that more people are now left with no choice but to resort to consuming wild or raw inedible food to cope with hunger. Somayeh Malekian, ABC News, 10 Jan. 2024 Despite its mostly inedible contents, the newsletter is beloved by chefs and food writers, and read by thousands of curious rubberneckers eager to bear witness to Lee’s weekly culinary train wrecks. Adam Reiner, Bon Appétit, 6 Jan. 2024 Internet personality Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, recently sued the partner in his virtual burger restaurant, alleging quality control issues and inedible food. Tiffany Tse, Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2023 In any event, my penchant for ordering the most disgusting thing on the menu led me to an inedible monstrosity, a cow’s udder filled with sirop, a reduction of pears and apples with the viscosity of hot tar. Lucy Sante, The New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2023 Byproducts like animal fats, hides and inedible proteins, if not used or reduced, can end up in landfills. Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN, 20 Oct. 2023 Cows would be more useful in predominantly grassy environments as their diet is fairly restricted to grasses, while some larger breeds of goats have a wider variety of vegetation in their diets including branches, young trees or tree bark that other herbivore species find inedible. Curtis Abraham, Scientific American, 9 Sep. 2023 Little Nasties, Big Problems Pathogens love to spend the winter in last year’s plant matter, only to come back again in the spring to ruin your tomatoes—or, in my case, French alpine strawberries, which all withered into inedible mush before they could be harvested. Deanna Kizis, Sunset Magazine, 13 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inedible.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1786, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of inedible was in 1786

Dictionary Entries Near inedible

Cite this Entry

“Inedible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inedible. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

inedible

adjective
in·​ed·​i·​ble (ˈ)in-ˈed-ə-bəl How to pronounce inedible (audio)
: not fit or safe for eating
inedible mushrooms

More from Merriam-Webster on inedible

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!