nigiri

[ ni-geer-ee ]

noun

, Japanese Cooking.

1. cold boiled rice moistened with rice vinegar, shaped into bite-size pieces and topped with raw seafood.

nigiri

/ niːˈɡiːriː /

noun

1. (in Japanese cuisine) a small oval block of cold rice topped with wasabi and a thin slice of fish, prawn, etc, and sometimes held together by a thin band of seaweed

Word History and Origins

Origin of nigiri¹

First recorded in 1945–50; from Japanese nigiri-zushi, literally, “hand-pressed sushi, rolled sushi,” from nigiri “a gripping or grasping, handmade rice ball,” from nigiru “to grip, grasp, roll a lump of rice in the hand” + -zushi, combining form of sushi ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of nigiri¹

from Japanese, literally: grasp, as the rice is shaped by hand

Example Sentences

Don’t come to Shibuya, co-owned by the chef’s wife, Candice Wise-Norris, expecting nigiri.

From Washington Post