litchi

American  

[lee-chee] / ˈli tʃi /

Or leechee,

noun

• litchis
  plural

1. the fruit of a Chinese tree, Litchi chinensis, of the soapberry family, consisting of a thin, brittle shell enclosing a sweet, jellylike pulp and a single seed.

2. the tree itself.

---

litchi British  

/ ˌlaɪˈtʃiː /

noun

1. a Chinese sapindaceous tree, Litchi chinensis, cultivated for its round edible fruits

2. the fruit of this tree, which has a whitish juicy edible aril

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• litchis
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of litchi

First recorded in 1580–90; from New Latin, from Chinese lìzhi ( lì “scallion” + zhī “branch”)

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

litchi litchis

I brought a friend recently who tried a strawberry lemonade green tea with litchi popping bobas, and she mentioned that it wasn’t overpoweringly sweet the way she had feared.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 25, 2021

New Yorkers welcomed speckled Asian pears; papaya with its lode of dripping black seeds; rough-skinned litchi disclosing creamy white flesh; knobby cherimoya with guts of custard; star fruit with its sharp angles and plasticized shine.

From New York Times ● Apr. 16, 2018

It was a little bit pear, a little bit litchi, a little bit like you’d stuck your head into a roadside hedgerow and inhaled air thick with early-summer honeysuckle.

From Washington Post ● May 2, 2016

“I really like litchi, longan and rambutan—you have to peel them and take out the big kernel inside but it’s worth it,” says Ms. Chaignot, who is especially partial to longans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2015

The twenty-five acre site, by a large bathing pond, includes one of the finest orchards in India-five hundred fruit trees-mango, guava, litchi, jackfruit, date.

From Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

Gunawan brought us a breakfast of eggs, steamed by the volcano, and sliced bananas nestled in soft white bread, plus an assortment of TimTam cookies and litchis still in their shells.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2020

I miss the baskets of dragon fruit and litchis at the Asian market near my office.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 2, 2020

Of Borba's Replenishing water with litchi she wrote in an email, "If you need to replenish, drink plain water or enjoy it with slices of lemon," describing litchis as "delicious but not magical."

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2011

Of Borba’s Replenishing water with litchi she wrote in an e-mail, “If you need to replenish, drink plain water or enjoy it with slices of lemon,” describing litchis as “delicious but not magical.”

From New York Times ● Dec. 14, 2011

Certain bacteria and yeasts found in fermented milk, rotting litchis and other foods can combat common infections, including travelers' diarrhea and vaginitis.

From Time Magazine Archive

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---