liquorice
Americannoun
noun
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a perennial Mediterranean leguminous shrub, Glycyrrhiza glabra, having spikes of pale blue flowers and flat red-brown pods
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the dried root of this plant, used as a laxative and in confectionery
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a sweet having a liquorice flavour
Etymology
Origin of liquorice
C13: via Anglo-Norman and Old French from Late Latin liquirītia, from Latin glycyrrhīza, from Greek glukurrhiza, from glukus sweet + rhiza root
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.
Liquorice root is one "safe alternative" the family use to tempt Junior towards more edible fare.
From BBC • Nov. 1, 2025
Liquorice is produced from the root of plants of the Glycyrrhiza species and has long been used as a herbal remedy and flavouring.
From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2024
And he thought she would be perfect as Liquorice Montague, an unhinged Svengali who takes under her wing one of the show’s characters.
From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2022
My colleague John Domokos is travelling with #manchesterqueens Verry Cherry, Beyoncé Holes, Anna Phylactic and Liquorice Black to the protest in London this morning.
From The Guardian • Jul. 13, 2018
Faded loops of coloured paper hung in the windows, and on the shelves were shabby little boxes of Sherbet, old Liquorice Sticks, and very withered, very hard Apples-on-a-stick.
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
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.
