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rye

1 American  
[rahy] / raɪ /

noun

  1. a widely cultivated cereal grass, Secale cereale, having one-nerved glumes and two- or three-flowered spikelets.

  2. the seeds or grain of this plant, used for making flour and whiskey, and as a livestock feed.

  3. rye bread.

  4. a straight whiskey distilled from a mash containing 51 percent or more rye grain.

  5. Northeastern U.S. and Canada. a blended whiskey.

adjective

  1. made with rye grain or flour.

    rye rolls.
rye 2 American  
[rahy] / raɪ /

noun

  1. a male Romani; Rom.

Rye 3 American  
[rahy] / raɪ /

noun

  1. a city in SE New York, on Long Island Sound.

rye 1 British  
/ raɪ /

noun

  1. a tall hardy widely cultivated annual grass, Secale cereale , having soft bluish-green leaves, bristly flower spikes, and light brown grain See also wild rye

  2. the grain of this grass, used in making flour and whiskey, and as a livestock food

  3. Also called: rye whiskey.  whiskey distilled from rye. US whiskey must by law contain not less than 51 per cent rye

  4. short for rye bread

"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
Rye 2 British  
/ raɪ /

noun

  1. a resort in SE England, in East Sussex: one of the Cinque Ports. Pop: 4195 (2001)

"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
rye 3 British  
/ raɪ /

noun

  1. dialect a gentleman

"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 rye1

before 900; Middle English; Old English ryge; cognate with Old Norse rūgr; akin to Dutch rogge, German Roggen

Origin of rye2

First recorded in 1850–55; from Romani rai “man, gentleman,” ultimately from Sanskrit rājan “king”; rajah ( def. )

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.

Starters can be made with wheat, rye, barley, teff, millet, or other grains, each supplying a distinct set of nutrients that microbes depend on to grow.

From Science Daily • Jan. 21, 2026

It comes with rye bread, sliced Emmental cheese, coleslaw, Russian dressing and Raye’s Cranberry Mustard.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 15, 2025

Snacking on 8-10 prunes a day and some rye bread can also have a similar effect.

From BBC • Oct. 13, 2025

The rye plant senses the world around it with more than 14 million roots and root hairs, a network that one plant neurobiologist described as a type of brain.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2025

Mutti brings him two soft-boiled eggs in blue eggcups and a thick slice of rye toast.

From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.