cilantro
Americannoun
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the strong-scented leaves of the coriander plant, used in salads or to flavor and garnish food.
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the coriander plant.
noun
Etymology
Origin of cilantro
1900–05; < Spanish, variant of culantro < Vulgar Latin, dissimilated form of Latin coriandrum coriander
Explanation
Cilantro is a strong, distinctive-smelling herb that's often used in Mexican and Indian cooking. While cilantro looks very similar to parsley, its flavor is much stronger. Cilantro is also known as coriander, as are its dried seeds. The fresh herb is often added to dishes just before serving, like Indian dal and Mexican guacamole, and mixed into Indian chutneys. Interestingly, people taste cilantro in completely different ways — cilantro lovers describe it as having a lemony flavor, while haters say it tastes like soap. Cilantro is a Spanish word, from the Latin coliandrum, "coriander."
Vocabulary lists containing cilantro
World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High 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.
Change the herbs accordingly: chives and parsley are excellent with giardiniera, while Mexican-style pickled carrots practically beg for cilantro and oregano.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Items like honey chicken and cilantro lime sauce proved to be popular.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Many people who have been sick have eaten parsley, cilantro and lettuce, officials said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The announcement comes after public health officials investigated Taco Bell locations in the Detroit-area after the chain voluntarily stopped selling lettuce, cilantro, onion, pico de gallo and guacamole, “due to a nationwide recall.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
I started to pull out the tiny cilantro leaves that were ruining my perfectly good guacamole.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
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.
