Crossword Clue: Gumbo vegetable
Here's the answer to the Gumbo vegetable crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: OKRA
The answer to "Gumbo vegetable" is OKRA. Okra runs 4 letters — 2 vowels and 2 consonants — opening with O and closing on A. In a grid it fills a 4-square slot whose letters are each shared with a crossing word, so the intersections do a lot of the heavy lifting when the clue itself is tough.
Origin & meaning
Okra is a green pod vegetable that thickens gumbo and stews. Its O-K-R-A mix of vowels and a rare K gives constructors handy options.
Common usage
You'll see OKRA in grids regularly — its 4-letter, 2 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the O or A, OKRA tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like OKRA are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet OKRA again and again, and recognizing it instantly is one of the quiet skills that separates fast solvers from slow ones.
Stuck on this clue?
The fastest way past a stubborn clue like this one is the grid itself: pencil in the easy crossing answers first, and OKRA will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
The clue "Gumbo vegetable" is just one way to arrive at OKRA. Across different puzzles and editors you may see the same answer clued as ""Lady's finger" vegetable". Recognizing that a single answer can wear many clues is one of the fastest ways to level up as a solver.
Example sentences
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing OKRA into the grid took no time at all."
- "Okra is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Gumbo vegetable' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in OKRA almost immediately."