endive

American  

[en-dahyv, ahn-deev, ahn-deev] / ˈɛn daɪv, ˈɑn div, ɑ̃ˈdiv /

noun

• endives
  plural

1. a composite plant, Cichorium endivia, having a rosette of often curly-edged leaves used in salads.

2. Also called French endive,.  Also called Belgian endive,.  Also called witloof.  a young chicory plant, deprived of light to form a narrow head of whitish leaves that are eaten as a cooked vegetable or used raw in salads.

3. Furniture. an ornamental motif having the form of an arrangement of acanthus or endive leaves.

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endive British  

/ ˈɛndaɪv /

noun

1. a plant, Cichorium endivia, cultivated for its crisp curly leaves, which are used in salads: family Asteraceae (composites) Compare chicory

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• endives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of endive

1325–75; Middle English < Middle French ≪ Medieval Greek entýbia, plural of entýbion, derivative of earlier éntybon < Latin intubum, intibum, earlier intubus chicory, endive, perhaps < Semitic

Compare meaning

How does endive compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• escarole vs. endive
• chicory vs. endive

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

endive endives

Serve on sliced baguette, sliced tomatoes, endive, radishes, celery sticks, and other prepared raw vegetables.

From Salon ● May 10, 2025

Any combination of bitter greens, such as frisée, endive, radicchio, escarole or arugula, works well in this recipe.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 22, 2023

Beets, spinach, and endive died where they grew, with telltale dried-up, silver-metallic leaves.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2023

Split this bistro-style blue-cheese steak and endive salad for two.

From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2023

Endive with sand, endive without sand, endive with mashed potatoes, endive—and—mashed potato casserole.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

One private, non-Indigo garage has even been turned into a farm for mushrooms and endives.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2023

Emmanuel Lefebvre produces thousands of tonnes of endives on his farm in northern France annually, but this year he may abandon his crop because of the crippling energy costs required to freeze the harvested bulbs.

From Reuters ● Sep. 22, 2022

It comes with a fine recipe for a Mozza staff meal of oven-roasted chicken thighs, and another for Ms. Peters’s sautéed endives with balsamic butter and marjoram.

From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2016

She might be tempted with fideua — Spanish macaroni baked with braised endives, piquillo pepper coulis, asparagus, pea vines and Comté cheese gratinee, while he could lavish attention on lamb albondigas with almonds and sherry.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2013

Endive Soup, or Purée.—Take half a dozen endives that are white in the centre, and wash them very thoroughly in salt and water, as they are apt to contain insects.

From Cassell's Vegetarian Cookery A Manual of Cheap and Wholesome Diet by A. G. Payne