Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • rice
    rice
    noun
    the starchy seeds or grain of an annual marsh grass, Oryza sativa, cultivated in warm climates and used for food.
  • Rice
    Rice
    noun
    Anne, 1941–2021, U.S. novelist.
  • RICE
    RICE
    acronym
    rest, ice, compression, elevation: the recommended procedure for controlling inflammation in injured limbs or joints
Synonyms

rice

1 American  
[rahys] / raɪs /

noun

  1. the starchy seeds or grain of an annual marsh grass, Oryza sativa, cultivated in warm climates and used for food.

  2. the grass itself.

  3. a food that is chopped or otherwise processed to resemble rice (used in combination): sweet potato rice.

    cauliflower rice;

    sweet potato rice.


verb (used with object)

rices, present (3rd person singular) riced, past participle, past ricing present participle
  1. to reduce to a form resembling rice.

    to rice potatoes.

Rice 2 American  
[rahys] / raɪs /

noun

  1. Anne, 1941–2021, U.S. novelist.

  2. Dan Daniel McLaren, 1823–1900, U.S. circus clown, circus owner, and Union patriot.

  3. Elmer, 1892–1967, U.S. playwright.

  4. Jerry Lee, born 1962, U.S. football player.

  5. Grantland 1880–1954, U.S. journalist.


rice 1 British  
/ raɪs /

noun

  1. an erect grass, Oryza sativa , that grows in East Asia on wet ground and has drooping flower spikes and yellow oblong edible grains that become white when polished

  2. the grain of this plant

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to sieve (potatoes or other vegetables) to a coarse mashed consistency, esp with a ricer

"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
RICE 2 British  
/ raɪs /

acronym

  1. rest, ice, compression, elevation: the recommended procedure for controlling inflammation in injured limbs or joints

"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

Rice 3 British  
/ raɪs /

noun

  1. Elmer , original name Elmer Reizenstein . 1892–1967, US dramatist. His plays include The Adding Machine (1923) and Street Scene (1929), which was made into a musical by Kurt Weill in 1947

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of rice

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English ris, rys, from Old French, from Italian riso, risi (in Medieval Latin risium ), from Medieval Greek orýzion, derivative of Greek óryza, from an Iranian language, e.g., Old Persian brizi, Pashto vrižē; akin to Sanskrit vrīhi-, perhaps ultimately of Dravidian origin

Explanation

Rice is a kind of plant, as well as the grain that comes from it. At some Chinese restaurants, you get a choice between white rice and brown rice. White rice is processed or "polished," so the outer germ is removed — it's a staple of Chinese and Indian cuisine, among others. There are many varieties of rice, defined by the color and length of the individual grain. When rice is a verb, it means "force through a sieve," or in other words, to take something like a potato and make it look like rice. We can trace the origin of rice back to the Sanskrit vrihi-s.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing rice

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.

Wheat, rice, cotton, sugar, cocoa and palm-oil production may be hit the hardest.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

Wheat, rice, cotton, sugar, cocoa and palm-oil production may be hit the hardest, Marex analysts wrote in a recent report called “El Niño and Agriculture: Weather Shocks, Supply Risk and Market Pricing.”

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

There’s arroz con lentejas, a vegetarian take on “arroz con gandules” that literally translates to rice with lentils.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026

Wash and rinse the rice before soaking it in a fresh bowl of water for 20 to 25 minutes.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026

Dishes of bean cakes and rice balls had been placed on the altar shelf for ghostly visitors.

From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "rice" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com