cooked in a pan or on a griddle over direct heat, usually in fat or oil.
Slang.
intoxicated from drugs; high.
exhausted or incapacitated through intemperance; burned-out.
First recorded in 1350–1400, for the adjective
Things that are fried are cooked in very hot fat or oil. You can order fried rice at a Chinese restaurant, or fried clams at your favorite seafood place. Some foods are lightly stir fried, while others are submerged in boiling oil and deep fried. At a state fair, there are offerings including fried dough and fried chicken, and it's even possible to eat fried candy bars or fried ice cream. Colloquially, someone who's exhausted might say, "I'm totally fried." Fried comes from the verb fry, which has the Latin root frigere, both "to fry" and "to roast."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This included eggs eaten on their own in forms such as scrambled, fried, or boiled, as well as eggs found in foods like baked goods and packaged products.
From Science Daily • May 7, 2026
And at times “Kenrex” verges on caricature in its depiction of rural life as a lawless Wild Midwest, garnished by such down-home delicacies as “a deep fried barbecue chili cheese dog with bacon crumbles.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
The “Landman” star said the key for good fried okra is to use cornmeal.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026
Dishes built around ingredients like pasta, bread, and fried proteins are often cheaper to produce than trend-driven luxuries like wagyu beef or imported seafood.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
My brain circuits must be absolutely fried at this point, because I break my Number One Rule—to never respond.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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.
