carob

American  

[kar-uhb] / ˈkær əb /

noun

• carobs
  plural

1. a Mediterranean tree, Ceratonia siliqua, of the legume family, bearing long, leathery pods containing hard seeds and sweet, edible pulp.

2. Also called St. John's-bread, algarroba, locust bean. the pod of this tree, the source of various foodstuffs, including a substitute for chocolate, as well as substances having several industrial uses, and sometimes used as food for animals.

3. a powder made from the ground pods and seeds of this tree and used in cooking, especially as a substitute for chocolate.

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carob British  

/ ˈkærəb /

noun

1. Also called: algarroba. an evergreen leguminous Mediterranean tree, Ceratonia siliqua, with compound leaves and edible pods

2. Also called: algarroba, Saint John's bread. the long blackish sugary pod of this tree, used as a substitute for chocolate and for animal fodder

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• carobs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of carob

1540–50; < Middle French carobe < Medieval Latin carrūbium < Arabic kharrūb bean-pods, carobs

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carob carobs

The company opened its production facility in March, where staff process not cacao beans but carob husks.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2025

But in Nukoko's case the raw material of choice is not carob or sunflower seeds but fava beans.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2025

Eventually, he settled on the eight most frequently mentioned: desert dates, Yemeni Sidr honey, sycamore figs, Israeli golden raisins, prickly juniper berries, carob fruit, black cumin and frankincense.

From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024

I’ve heard carob described as tasting like “nutty cardboard,” but if you’re evaluating it on its own merits without comparing it to chocolate, it can have a pleasant, malty and nutty flavor.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 8, 2024

I envisioned her skin the same carob color as my father’s, her eyes as black and her lips as full as his.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Greek landowners in the jagged Troodos Mountains leased their pastures to Turkish shepherds; Turkish shopkeepers bought oranges and carobs from Greek farmers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mird lives near by, among his peas, vines and carobs, in a house cluttered by found objects and rustic earthenware.

From Time Magazine Archive

Greek landowners in the craggy Troodos Mountains leased their pastures to Turkish shepherds; Turkish shopkeepers bought oranges and carobs from Greek farmers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Much damage is done to carobs by the large rat, Mus Alexandrinus.

From Notes on Agriculture in Cyprus and Its Products by William Bevan

About 40,000 quintals of these carobs are annually exported from Crete.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

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