What is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable?

A fruit grows around seeds. It is fruit because seeds are inside. A vegetable is another plant part. Leaves, roots, and stems can be vegetables.

A fruit is the part of a plant that grows around seeds, like an apple or peach. A vegetable is usually another part we eat, like a leaf, root, stem, or flower. It is like sorting toy parts: wheels and blocks can come from the same toy box, but they are different parts. Some foods, like tomatoes, are fruits to a plant but vegetables in cooking.

In plant science, a fruit is the part that grows from a flower and holds seeds. A vegetable is any edible plant part, meaning a part people can eat, such as a root, stem, leaf, or flower. Cooks also call some fruits vegetables when they are used in meals that are not sweet. That is why tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers are fruits to a plant, but often called vegetables at dinner. Fun fact: the tiny dots on a strawberry are actually tiny fruits, each with a seed inside.