Is popcorn considered a vegetable?

Popcorn, the cooked kernel of the flowering ear of the maize plant, is botanically a fruit, not a vegetable. A fruit is defined as the reproductive part of a plant – in this case, the ear of the corn plant – that is used to propagate the species.

Within the fruit classification, corn is considered a grain, defined along with nuts and seeds as a dry fruit. Corn is the most popular grain livestock feed grain in the United States. Additionally, the agricultural industry uses it to produce alcohol for industrial uses and ethanol for energy. Corn is also used to make oil and starch.