Meanings
nounjojoba (plural jojobas)
plural jojobas
- Any member of the species Simmondsia chinensis of shrubs native to the southwestern United States and to Mexico, the only plant known to store liquid wax in its seed.
The ground was bad – rocky and hard. That was why we used it for jojoba plants. The plants are tough. They donʼt need much.
1998, Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Talents, HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP (2019), page 195Synonyms: goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, gray box bush
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- O'odhamhohowai
- Spanishjojoba
- Englishjojoba
Borrowed from Spanish jojoba, from O'odham hohowai.
More words from Spanish, O'odham
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian жожоба
- жожоба (žožoba)Simmondsia chinensis
French jojoba
- jojobaSimmondsia chinensis
German Jojoba
- JojobaSimmondsia chinensis
Portuguese jojoba
- jojobaSimmondsia chinensis
Spanish jojoba
- jojobaSimmondsia chinensis
Cite this entry
APA
jojoba. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jojoba
MLA
“jojoba.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jojoba. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jojoba,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jojoba.
Source: jojoba on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.