rice

¹

[rahys]

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)

riced, ricing 

1. to reduce to a form resembling rice.

   to rice potatoes.

Rice

²

[rahys]

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

/ 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

verb

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

RICE

²

/ raɪs /

acronym

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

Rice

³

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rice¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rice¹

C13 rys , via French, Italian, and Latin from Greek orūza , of Oriental origin

Example Sentences

More than 1,000 items will be sold under the new label, Amazon said, including eggs, honey, potatoes, rice and brownies, with most priced under $5.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Much of the revenue generated by Haitian labor was then spent buying goods from the U.S., including some $260 million in rice from Louisiana and nearly $500 million in fuel in 2024.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Her son, Li Chen-ho, stocked up for a recent trek with a sleeping bag, a change of clothes, a water bottle and instant rice.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

At one point, the district switched from white to brown rice — a healthier whole grain.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Japanese concept of kō, or micro-seasons, reads like a fieldworker’s prayer: fish emerge from ice; farmers drain fields; last frost, rice seedlings grow.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• bran 
• corn 
• grain 
• wheat