winter melonn.1. a. A tendril-bearing, sprawling annual plant (Benincasa hispida) widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical Asia for its waxy-skinned edible fruit.b. The fruit of this plant, often cooked as a vegetable or boiled and sweetened as a confection. Also called wax gourd.2. Any of several varieties of melon (Cucumis melo) usually having a smooth hard rind and including the honeydew melon and the crenshaw.[Translation of Chinese (Mandarin) d?nggu? : d?ng, winter + gu?, melon (because it keeps well and can be eaten in winter although grown in summer).]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.winter melon n (Plants) a variety of muskmelon, Cucumis melo inodorus, that has sweet fruit with pale orange flesh and an unridged rind. Also called: Persian melon Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014win?ter mel?on n. a variety of late-keeping muskmelon, Cucumis melo inodorus, having sweet, edible flesh. [1895?1900] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.