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ghee

American  
[gee] / gi /

noun

  1. a kind of liquid butter, used especially in the cooking of India, made from the milk of cows or buffaloes and clarified by boiling.


ghee British  
/ ɡiː /

noun

  1. butter, clarified by boiling, used in Indian cookery

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ghee

First recorded in 1655–65, ghee is from the Hindi word ghī

Explanation

Ghee is butter that's been melted and allowed to separate, leaving just the clear butterfat. If you've ever dined on Indian food, you've probably eaten ghee. When butter is clarified, it's simmered until any water evaporates and all the extra solid particles of milk sink to the bottom or float on top. Once these are skimmed off, what's left behind is ghee. In South Asian cuisines, ghee is a common fat used in many dishes. It also holds an important place in some Hindu rituals, as cows, and products made from their milk, are considered sacred.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“There’s certainly enthusiasm around what is transformative technology,” said Tony Ghee, head of equity investments in the chief investment office of Bank of America, in a phone interview Tuesday.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

A table away sat another Broadway star, J. Harrison Ghee.

From Seattle Times • May 7, 2024

As it happens, outness was a big theme, with J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell becoming the first openly nonbinary performers to win Tonys in acting categories.

From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2023

“My mother raised me to understand that my gifts that God gave me were not about me,” Ghee said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2023

Ghee, gē, n. an Indian clarified butter, generally prepared from buffaloes' milk.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

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