wasabi
Americannoun
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an Asian plant, Eutrema wasabi, of the mustard family.
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the pungent, greenish root of this plant, which can be grated and used as a condiment.
noun
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a Japanese cruciferous plant, Eutrema Wasabi , cultivated for its thick green pungent root
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the root of this plant, esp in paste or powder form, used as a condiment in Japanese cookery
Etymology
Origin of wasabi
(< New Latin ) < Japanese
Explanation
The spicy, edible root called wasabi can be ground into an even spicier green paste that's served with many Japanese foods — and is also called wasabi. Watch out for the wasabi sitting innocently on the plate beside your sushi! It may look like a blob of avocado, but it tastes pungent and deeply spicy. The flavor and spice of wasabi is often compared to horseradish or spicy mustard; you don't feel the heat on your tongue so much as in the back of your nose. Sometimes the Japanese plant is unavailable and horseradish root is used instead — sushi chefs call this "Western Wasabi."
Vocabulary lists containing wasabi
World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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East Asia - Middle School
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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.
Both Sakai and Tsugawa highlight the punch of wasabi and the salty complexity of soy sauce as complements to Wagyu.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
My first Japanese Wagyu meal at a steakhouse—a 4-ounce rib-eye served with wasabi alongside vinegary dishes and pickled vegetables that cut against the fat—changed everything.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
The magazine also raved about “skinny queen” influencer Amanda Dobler for “not apologizing” after coaching followers to avoid even wasabi and soy sauce, because their negligible calorie counts are deemed excessive.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
The wasabi sauce was sinus-clearing, with a generous portion of the black pearls gleaming on top.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2025
“I bring two foods to share. One is hone-senbei, my grandfather favorite. Other is wasabi peas. They are maybe spicy. Food in America tastes...”
From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
