What is the difference between squash and gourd?

It seems that some people are confused between squash and gourd mainly because they seem to be the same. They come from the same family and they have some similarities but one of their main differences is how they are used. Squash is used for cooking. There are different dishes that can be cooked with squash as one of the main ingredients.
Gourds are not used for cooking because they are not edible. They are normally used for decorative purposes. Make sure that you will not eat gourd because there may be some repercussions that will occur after. There are also some gourds that are used in order to create bowls and birdhouses.